To Hold This Burning Rose
by Secret Sheik
Summary: ItaSaku. Don't like? Don't read. Rated to be safe. Itachi and Sakura are forced to come to terms. A terrible sequence of events only fuels the fire.
1. Planting the Seed

A/N: If you don't like the Itachi and Sakura pairing, do not read this fic. Simple. Secondly, I do not own Naruto. If I did, Akatsuki would suffer far less casualties. This fic is not completely canon. If you don't like that, again, don't read. I'll try and keep it as close as possible though. Fun to see how things turn out if a few incidents happen differently.

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To Hold This Burning Rose

Part 1 - "Planting the Seed"

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Pale light shone with an ethereal hue through the thick canopy above. Sakura was on a solo mission to a nearby village in the land of fire after the defeat of Sasori and the fruitless encounter with Sasuke. The mission was to bring a message to a feudal lord, nothing unusual or dangerous. It was far beneath her level of skill but it brought money to both herself and the village, and she took it eagerly. Maybe it would be nice to relax and take it easy for once. The weather was fair and the sun shone warmly on her back, the light breeze drifting slowly through her pink hair. This lazy afternoon seemed to linger on the grass, caught in a moment between sunrise and sunset.

Her stomach clenched as an odd aura appeared behind her and she drew her kunai out swiftly, whirling to meet whomever would dare mess with her. Bandits and thieves were common on the main roads, but her eyes couldn't comprehend the sight before her. Akatsuki... More specifically, Uchiha Itachi. Him and his freaky shark partner. His cold, red Sharingan bled through the daylight, his callous gaze focused intently on her as he paused, grabbing her weapon wielding arm the second she took it out. A split second of tense silence passed between them. Then his quiet, calm voice broke the silence. "You're coming with us, kunoichi." He didn't pause in the least, his Sharingan whirring faster and lulling her into a deep sleep. The void took her as she passed out where she stood, knowing nothing more until much later that day.

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When she woke at last, she recalled having a dream about a familiar bridge in Konoha, lined with blossoming cherry trees in the spring, memories of a long lost friend threatening to rise. This cold stone wall she currently had her back against was a far cry from the warmth of the sunshine in the dream, the cherry trees replaced by musty rock. Her breath hitched in her throat as the happenings earlier that day came back to her memory. Akatsuki... Itachi... they captured her. Why? A few theories ran through her mind. Maybe they needed her medical skills. Itachi's eyes were going blind, after all. Maybe they wanted her as bait. Or maybe it was something else? Whatever it was, they weren't going to get it! She tried to focus her chakra but found this mental focus unreachable, her chakra too drained even if she could focus. It must have been Kisame and that weird chakra eating sword. Her muddled mind grasped at the focus that seemed just beyond her reach as a low, amused voice called to her.

"It's pointless, girly." The man's wide smirk and sharp teeth seemed to shine even in the darkness of this cell. She slowly recognized him as Hoshigake Kisame, former Mist shinobi.

She glared up at him icily. "You... What do you want with me?"

He grinned yet again at her expense. "You'll find out soon enough, won't you?" His grin disappeared as he slid a tray under a gap in the bars, a bowl of soup and a glass of water edging towards her. When he rose, his sarcastic remark was well accompanied by another grin. "Don't say I never gave you anything." With a smirk to himself, he left her alone again. What would she do? With her chakra drained like this, there was no way she could punch through these walls. Her strength was completely reliant on her use of chakra. She also made note that she had been tied up, possibly with something that had chakra reducing properties. Well, damn. At least they had left her hands free, only her legs tied at the ankles. Her hands were of little use anyway without chakra or weapons. With a sigh of resignation, she took her bowl of soup and downed it quickly, eyes darting around the cell curiously. No windows, no way to escape. The bars were too thick and too close together, that was no good. Stone floor with steel underneath, the way that Kisame's disappearing footsteps echoed. This was one seriously well built compound, but then again this was Akatsuki. Who knew what these people dealt with?

The muted chakra signatures above the lower compound moved about through the course of the hours she was awake. How long had she been here? What time was it? No clues existed for the passage of time in this dark cell, but just as she was about ready to sleep out of sheer boredom, a new presence approached the cell door. A familiar set of glowing red eyes shot a glare through the gaps in the bars, hesitating before he formed a hand sign and opened the gate. He glared intensely for a moment, staring her down in a show of dominance. She glared right back, her own fiery temperament matching his chilling countenance blow for blow. Neither budged for a good minute before his monotone voice ordered her briefly. "Get up." They held the staring contest for another entire minute, his patience never faltering. Finally she stood, and he removed the ropes around her legs and instead put them on her wrists, leading her unceremoniously through the dark corridors.

His barely shifting form led her blindly through the darkness and she nearly tripped several times along the way. The stale air made her cough, the pale slick stone skidding underneath her. Several turns and twists later, a circular set of stairs led to a small alcove near where she assumed the top of the complex would be. Far below the ground lay at least thirty feet below, the massive stone compound spread haphazardly beneath. Her eyes drifted to the icy metal railing, rickety from years of use and the only thing separating her from a deadly fall. Sickly yellow light glowed from a crack in the alcove and Itachi's hand went to meet it, pulling the door aside to lead her into the poorly lit office. Thick mist covered the floor and the open cavern ahead showed that it was raining heavily, the downpour sliding down the numerous metal pipes and other odd architecture outside. Wherever she was now, it wasn't anywhere near Konoha.

A shadow detached itself from the wall in a flurry of black, empty gray ringed eyes staring vacantly across the desk. His low, masculine voice was the only sound heard above the rain. "So you are Haruno Sakura." As he approached her, his impassive voice continued. "Apprentice to the Sannin Tsunade, medical ninja and teammates with the jinchuuriki Uzumaki Naruto. Not to mention, the one who brought about Sasori's death..."

She was just inches away from his shadowed face, his powerful chakra aura domineering the room, overshadowing even Itachi's malicious aura. Not one to quail in the face of danger, she glared up at him. "What do you want with me?"

His hesitation may have been interpreted as a grin, and he reached out to tilt her chin slightly. "You'd just love to know that, wouldn't you? I did my research. Let's see how well you did yours. What do you suppose we want you for?"

Her bitter remark stung across the corners of the small room. "I'm bait."

"An interesting guess, an intelligent one, but incorrect. Although you may end up luring the jinchuuriki here, that was not my main reason for bringing you here." His calm tone did little to cover up the immense danger he posed.

"You need my medical skills, then."

"Again, a good guess. Still incorrect." Another small pause. "Think harder. Why would the Akatsuki want to capture someone with your kind of reputation?"

She thought this over for a moment, the anger in her mind roiling and making it difficult to concentrate. Why? Someone with her reputation... a person capable of surpassing the current Hokage and Sannin. Oh no... Of course...! Her voice was barely a whisper as she choked out her answer. "You wish to manipulate me for your own purposes."

"Good girl." He drew further away from her, head facing the rain as it continued in its haphazard flow, the noise soothing. "You killed one of our best and brightest members. Granted, you had help, but even so, your work was commendable. With your help, willing or otherwise, we could accomplish some of the finer details of our goals that require a medical nin."

She sneered defiantly. "Never! I'll never help the likes of you!"

"We'll see about that. If you intend to defy fate, you will be kept in that cell until we see fit. Perhaps the jinchuuriki will come for you. At least you will be a suitable hostage." He turned away from them, waving his hand dismissively. "Itachi, keep me informed. Do as you see fit."

Sakura tensed, feeling the burn of the fiery Sharingan on the back of her head as the decision was made. They would undoubtedly try to break her, to wound her spirit. Then, when she could no longer fight back, she would be forcefully recruited and who knew what else. The cold rain outside reflected her inner sorrow, the sky crying in her stead as the tears she refused to shed choked her throat. Moonlight streaming from the breaking sky shone a melancholy yellow, the disgusting glow in the room disappearing as she shut her eyes, refusing to believe this could be happening.

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A/N: A prologue, I suppose. How did you like it?


	2. The Rain Falls

A/N: Longer chapters now, that's pretty good at least!

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Part 2 - "The Rain Falls"

The swirling depths of the Sharingan morphed swiftly to the Mangekyo Sharingan as Itachi prepared to question her. If she didn't comply, he would torment her slowly with the Tsukiyomi. Her jade green eyes widened with fear at the prospect of what Kakashi had warned her about. He had been lost in Itachi's Tsukiyomi for the equivalent of three days, though in the real world it had taken but a second. Bloodshot vessels around his swirling irises spread as the Mangekyo sharpened, the specks of the Sharingan changing to blades. His poise was calm and collected, but her breathing quickened and her heart raced as the impending doom towered in her thoughts.

"Kunoichi... Where is the jinchuuriki now?"

She glared at him from her spot on the wall. He had taken the liberty of chaining her up to a wall in another cell, possibly made for this exact purpose. Her silence persevered and his mouth turned down ever so slightly. Just before his patience could sever, she answered. "I don't know."

He knew she wasn't lying. Chances were good that she truly didn't know. She was on a solo mission and wouldn't need to keep tabs on the boy. Slowly, he approached a bit closer, his captivating glare never ceasing to hold her gaze. The hypnotizing effects of the Sharingan, especially the Mangekyo, were hard to fool. "Leader was kind enough to offer you the chance to aid Akatsuki. He doesn't do this lightly, you know. You would be foolish to pass up such an opportunity."

She struggled against her bonds and bared her teeth angrily. "You bastard... I would never join your sick little organization!"

"Sick?" He almost smirked. His eyebrow almost raised with amusement.

Her expressions were more easily read, quick to anger and never feeling any remorse about showing this vicious side. "Sick! Twisted! All you do is hurt innocent people! You killed your clan! Don't you understand what that did to Sasuke? And the rest of you... all you do is cause misery!"

"Of course. All shinobi kill the innocent. All are subject to missions that cause misery."

"I was never given an order by my superiors to kill a whole clan!"

He held back a retort that he HAD been given such an order. She couldn't understand. Not now. Perhaps not ever. Something like this would go completely over her head. He wasn't here to make her understand the reasons behind his own goals. All he was required to do was force her to aid the Akatsuki, whether she was willing or not. He wasn't unnecessarily harsh, most of the time he wanted things to go as smoothly as possible and with as little effort as needed. If talk was all that was required to gain her trust, then perhaps it was talk she would get. "And what if you were given such an order? Would you follow it? Or would you defy it?"

Her brow contorted angrily. He couldn't understand the way she believed. How could he? This ruthless bastard who killed with no remorse, killing without need, going to great lengths to cause misery with unnecessary measures. "Of course I would defy it! I would never do such a horrible thing!"

His eyebrow raised with amusement. "Not even if your own Hokage told you to?"

She hesitated, taken back by such a difficult thought. "Yes, even if she told me herself, I would never do such a thing."

"So you're saying that instead of completing your assigned mission, you would defy orders and become a missing nin. That is all that could happen after such a bold action, you know. Going against a direct order would label you with treason and you would be banished from the village. And you're saying that you would give up your life as you know it to save a clan? Would you do the same to save a clan of enemy ninjas?"

"Of course not. I would gladly kill enemies of the village!"

"Is that so? Even the children?"

She hesitated again. "If that was necessary... yes. Children of our enemies grow up to become enemy ninja, after all."

"And what if the clan within your village was considered a threat to the village? Would you so easily turn against your former friends and loved ones? If they were considered your new enemies, would you take the order?"

"Aren't you supposed to be asking me questions that get somewhere?" Her mouth contorted into a sneer.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "It's just a hypothetical treachery. I was merely curious. Answer me."

She was silent for a long time, and he awaited her answer patiently. "If I were told to kill an entire clan within the village... if it was proven to me without a doubt that they were enemies of the village... I would follow orders. However..." Her eyes drifted to the floor, breaking the stare. "If I were also given the chance to save my closest friends, to run away... I would take that as well."

It took a good portion of his willpower to not raise his eyebrow at that remark. "As well? So you would execute the proven enemies, and save the ones that you saw fit to survive. That's very cold."

She glared back up at him again, her defiant gaze piercing. "Where do you get off calling me cold? You're the one that killed without looking. You're the one that left only Sasuke alone and enraged, never again knowing the love of his family, never being the same again. What right do you have to criticize me like that?"

"I might ask that same question. You know nothing about what you're saying. You are cold because you see yourself as being a suitable judge of character. You would spare the ones that you saw fit, but who are you to judge what's right and what's wrong?" He had to admit, she was intelligent, but for all that mental power, she had no substance to back it up. She had no idea about how incredibly jaded she has been all her life.

"You have no right to judge such a thing either, you bastard!"

"No, I don't." He tilted his head thoughtfully. "And yet that is what you as a shinobi do for a living. You are given orders by your superior to judge the lives of other shinobi and execute them accordingly. Not only that, but you are paid for services rendered. Shinobi are little more than a transportable court, providing judge, jury and executioner. Who tells us that what we know is right? Your Hokage tells you what to do, and the feudal lords of the fire country are the ones that order these things. When it all comes down to it, we are told what is right and what is wrong by those that hire us. We are not allowed our own personal views or feelings. We are only allowed the mission and the goals of the organizations we work for."

If she chose to look at this objectively, he was completely right. However, an objective outlook wasn't one she was willing to embrace immediately. "You're seriously screwed up."

"Am I?" He came close enough to look her full in the face. "Look at this objectively." He had no idea that this is exactly what she had been struggling with internally and kept on with the tangent. "What do you suppose that civilians in the non-shinobi countries think of us? Do you suppose they only see Akatsuki as the evil organization? Tell me... how many casualties have you caused in non-shinobi countries?"

She winced. "A few..." He had a good point. Sometimes casualties in neutral countries were unavoidable when two rival nations met there in a fateful twist.

"They probably see your group as evil ninjas, stirring up trouble in an area that should have been untouched sanctuary. Akatsuki is no better, of course, we've had our fair share of unsanctioned trouble when hunter nin come after us. Whether you believe that you are good or not, you will always be evil to people outside the shinobi world." He paused, turning off the Sharingan as he edged away from her slowly. "We're through for now." After a moment of hesitation, he turned to her. "Come." He released her bonds with a flick of his hands, his glare beckoning to her. Though she remained untied this time, she knew it was useless to try to escape. Something was still causing her concentration on chakra to elude her.

She followed silently through the hallway, the beveled pillars curling up into an arch. This time he took a different path, not heading for the staircase but to a new hallway. The new hall had been made of stone but had been overlaid with rough plaster and painted a cream color. Small lanterns dotted the walls from time to time, better lit than the dank office of their leader. Heat wafted from an unseen source, chasing away the chilly fog that seemed to cling anywhere that the leader's influence often touched.

The hall turned into a corner at the end, leading to a small kitchen and dining room. At first she hadn't expected the evil, ruthless Akatsuki to have rooms that seemed so... normal. Well, what was she thinking, though? Just because they were an evil organization didn't mean they didn't have the same needs as any other person. Someone had gone to the trouble of painting an enormous mural on the far dining wall, a scene filled with water dwelling birds and mountains. Three other Akatsuki members had been sitting at the table already, meals in front of them and chattering loudly until she entered. She recognized Kisame, then the man next to him as Deidara. The third man was one she didn't recognize, though something about that swirly orange mask seemed oddly familiar. Something to do with the color orange maybe...

Their silence quickly returned to soft chatter when Itachi stared at them nonchalantly, the others still curious but not questioning him. Well, Leader had told him to do as he pleased with the girl. What did they care if he let her wander around? Itachi turned to Sakura and glared, his dark eyes forceful enough even without the Sharingan. "Sit." She glared right back at him for a good minute, the chatter around the table ceasing again as the new show started. Nothing happened in that long, tense moment, both staring patiently at each other, daring one of them to budge. Her stomach interrupted the silent contest, its hungry protests causing her to falter slightly. He took the opportunity to glare harder. "Sit, kunoichi."

She grimaced, her teeth showing. "I'm not your dog to order around!" Even so, she was hungry, and he had probably intended to find something for her to eat. With a huff, she seated herself across from Deidara and Kisame, right next to the stranger. The orange masked man looked her over briefly, though she refused to meet anyone's gaze. He bounced in his seat eagerly and waved at Deidara.

"Deidara-senpai! Who's the pretty girl?"

Her eyes widened with surprise and she turned to stare at this seemingly childish man, a completely baffled expression on her face. Deidara groaned and leaned his elbows on the table, resting his head in his hands. "Tobi, don't you remember? Leader wants to recruit her, yeah."

He turned to look at her again. "Ohhhhhh! Yes, Tobi remembers! Tobi's a good boy." His hand suddenly grabbed a lock of her hair and he turned again to Deidara. "Senpai... Why is her hair pink?"

Deidara's lone blue eye glared up at him maliciously. "How the fuck should I know, yeah?"

Sakura was about to punch both of them out, chakra or no chakra, but they were saved at the last minute by Itachi arriving with two meals. He glared icily at her once again before passing her a plate, seating himself at the end of the table between her and Kisame. The moment she started on her food, Tobi's shenanigans started up again. "Senpai... Where do babies come from?" She almost choked on her mouthful of food and she was coughing and gasping while Deidara's eye bugged out of his head, Kisame gaped, and Itachi's eyebrow twitched. Kisame tried hard to keep from gaping but all it did was make his mouth open and close rapidly, looking more and more like the fish he was. Deidara was currently trying to kill his partner through eye contact alone though it wasn't working. Itachi went back to eating his noodles silently, though the twitch of his brow said everything.

Kisame suddenly recovered and grinned mischievously. "Oi, Tobi, why don't you ask the little medical ninja here? I bet she knows all kinds of things about that, doesn't she?"

Sakura nearly choked yet again and glared at them all scathingly. "Would you all just leave me the fuck alone?"

A new male voice sounded from the hallway as he approached. "Konan, how many times-" The silver haired man paused in the doorway as he saw who it was that was cussing. Someone new? "Who the fuck are you?" His partially opened cloak revealed more skin than most of them were comfortable with and his rosary dangled as he leaned forward curiously.

Itachi answered him softly. "This is the kunoichi you were told about before. Didn't you read the mission report like you were supposed to, Hidan?"

He leaned back up with a cocky tilt of his head, sneering. "Fuck no, Kakuzu takes care of shit like that. What the fuck is up with her hair?"

Deidara thudded his forehead on the table. Honestly, this was too much for him. Sakura had had it with all of them and turned to glare at Hidan, her fiendish expression complementing the words that followed. "What the fuck is up with YOUR hair, you fucking greased back prick?" She could easily match him blow for blow, her anger overwhelming her usually calm demeanor in an instant.

He glared back with just as much hatred and anger, though internally he was amused by the prospect of a good match of words. "You fucking little pink haired bitch, I don't need your damn sass, I just came for some FUCKING TEA ALRIGHT?"

She watched as he huffed and quickly passed behind her to the kitchen, grabbing his tea. With a smirk, she picked up her own cup of tea, eyes closed and hand over her cup thoughtfully. "Well put a damn shirt on next time, you're going to make everyone blind."

He opened his mouth to say something but huffed instead, grimacing and storming out of the room. His cloak fluttered loudly as he exited and Deidara watched after the man, his eyebrow raised slightly with amusement. "You made Hidan speechless, yeah. Hey, what was your name again?"

She finally looked at him. "Sakura."

"Well, Sakura-san... Do you think you can make Tobi shut up too, yeah?" His look was one of an almost desperate pleading, his eyes wide and hopeful. Not that she could blame him. She had been in the room with Tobi for barely five minutes and already she couldn't take it anymore. He frowned, biting his lip nervously.

Speak of the devil... "Senpai... Tobi's a good boy, I'm not doing anything bad. All Tobi wants to know is where-"

Sakura hit him on the head swiftly, her brow furrowed angrily and her form towering over the downed man as she rose from her seat abruptly. "Shut up!"

Deidara sighed with relief and leaned back in his chair, exhausted from the mental stress. Kisame leaned forward on the table and frowned with disappointment. "Aw... What did you go and do that for? Just when things were starting to get fun around here."

Her fiery eyes turned on him accusingly, her fist ready to fly. "Don't make me have to-"

Another Akatsuki member entered abruptly, his brow furrowing as he glared at them. "Hey, shut up, you guys. It's pay day." All of the Akatsuki knew well what pay day meant. It meant don't mess with Kakuzu. Don't blink, don't talk, don't even think. "Itachi, good work." He put a large stack of bills in front of the Uchiha and then another smaller pile in front of Kisame. "Kisame, try to follow the mission objectives a bit more carefully next time. Deidara, you get a bonus from the last mission." He put a stack that was larger than Itachi's down with a touch of remorse, sad to see such an amount go. "Tobi..." He set down a very small stack in front of the final member. "Better luck next time."

Tobi looked down dejectedly. "Tobi was bad?"

Kakuzu merely shrugged. "Well, you've been letting Deidara do all the work, it's only right that he gets the bonus for the three-tails." His glowing green eyes looked up at the last person at the table, remembering her from the mission statement that Hidan had neglected. "Haruno-san." He was neutral and polite, ignoring the fact that she was still standing with an angry look on her face. Tobi did that to people, after all. He waved casually to the group as he exited, leaving to find the rest of the members for pay day.

As soon as the man left, Deidara snatched up his pay eagerly. "Hey, I got a bonus! That never happens, yeah. I haven't had a bonus since the Ichibi, yeah."

Tobi glanced again at Sakura, remembering her punch and trying to be more careful. "Sakura-san, will you come visit Tobi again?"

She choked back a "Not if I can help it" and changed it to "I'm sorry, I don't think I can."

Itachi spoke up, his voice quiet but always so intense. "There's no reason why you couldn't. Leader-sama said that I may do with you as I please. If you wish to visit Tobi sometime, it could be arranged."

Tobi jumped up from his seat anxiously. "You really mean that Itachi-senpai?"

Itachi replied calmly. "She can't escape. The bonds on her chakra usage will remain in place, and there is always someone here to keep an eye on her. There's no reason she can't be free to come and go through the compound. She could visit you any time she wants."

The annoying man glomped Sakura suddenly, hugging tight. "Tobi is so happy, Sakura-san! Now you can see Tobi whenever you want! Tobi wants to see you every day!" She glared at Itachi, really wishing SHE could use something like the Tsukiyomi. His face was completely blank but she could have sworn that there, ever so slightly, was the tiniest grin. Oh yes. He was going down.

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A/N: Gotta love hilarity!


	3. Time Passes

Part 3 - "Time Passes"

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Itachi brooded in his room not long after lunch. He had deposited the kunoichi in one of the spare rooms and now he was trying to formulate a plan. Although he knew quite well that the leader couldn't care less what he did with her now, he wanted to carry his mission through to perfection. It had been his mission to recruit the girl at any cost, and he intended to see it through. True, it would have been easy to just give up on her and let her go somewhere in the forest, but he wasn't the type to give up on such an intriguing mission. The girl was intelligent enough to provide some amusement, though her arguments were lukewarm at best. She really had nothing to throw at him that he didn't already accept.

She would break eventually, he knew she would. Oddly, he didn't wish to break her, only bend until the near break, stretch her limits and see just how far she could sway before the smallest crack appeared. How should he proceed? Her willpower was high, and her loyalty to her village just as much. She had hesitated, though, when he asked her those difficult questions. Perhaps she would be the type that might follow her heart, even if it led her down what she considered the path of darkness.

To follow the heart... from the time of his birth he had been told that emotions were useless things, meant to be thrown away and forgotten. If he had shown any sign of wishing to follow what his heart told him, he would have been beaten, mentally tortured, anything that would rip his sense of self from his body. She had had the fortune of being born into a non-shinobi family, one that expected nothing from her and allowing her whatever she pleased. She wasn't expected to be a prodigy, to be the genius that surpassed everyone. She was given the right to have weakness, to follow what she truly felt was the right path. His eyes opened abruptly and he stood, ready. Yes, that is how he would bend her will.

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Sakura sat on a rough chair in the borrowed bedroom, having little else to do but read a few of the novels that had been left there in years past. The halls and rooms all smelled like rain, the constant downpour in this region leaving the scent everywhere. Amegakure. It didn't take a genius to figure out that this was the country of rain. She still had barely enough chakra to function, though at least she had been allowed to remain untied as long as she didn't act up. Not like there was any point to it. As far as she knew, the only exit to the outside world had been the open cavern in the leader's office. That was obviously not an option.

She wouldn't resist, at least not physically. There was no point, and it would be little more than a waste of energy. This place was as difficult to get out of as it was to get into, and she sighed softly into the empty room. A shadow suddenly detached itself from the wall and her breath caught suddenly, her green eyes meeting onyx. Her mind tried to decide between relief and fear as she recognized Itachi, but she somehow knew he wouldn't harm her. Although he was a murderous bastard, he was at least true to his word. He didn't approach, merely watching her. She glared sharply at him. "What the hell do you want, Uchiha?"

He frowned darkly at the mention of his family name but didn't speak for a moment. His eyes darted to the book in her hand, remembering how he had mistakenly left it here the first day he had come to Akatsuki. How long had that been now? Five years? That novel had been nearly forgotten in his mind. "Good choice, kunoichi." He inclined his head towards the book in her hand.

Her gaze was confused for a moment but she noticed the direction of his gaze and looked back at the novel thoughtfully. Basics of ninjutsu. Not exactly what he might have expected, she supposed. The cheesy romance novels that had been stashed next to it had been left untouched, and the books about battle techniques and anatomy laid spread out before her. She glanced at the stash with a bitter tinge, remembering how she had been teased for being such a tomboy in the past. "I have a name, you know."

He didn't say anything, approaching silently and taking the book from her hands slowly, turning it around, looking at the cover. His nimble hands took away the back cover, sliding a hidden panel aside, a small piece of paper hidden behind the inside of the cover. He had turned his back to her, not letting her see what had been hidden there, slipping it into his cloak before turning around. Really, out of all the things in the world, she just HAD to pick this book. Never before had he worried about this being discovered. None of the Akatsuki needed a book about ninjutsu basics, and he never expected her to be the type to find such things interesting. What a strange girl.

She saw him staring at her accusingly, though she didn't see that there had been anything at all amiss about the book when he returned it to her. His eyes reflected the slightest bit of confusion and she couldn't help but feel irritated. "What the hell are you staring at, Uchiha?"

The frown returned to his face as his quiet voice finally rose. "Don't call me that."

She stared back at him calmly. "Don't call me kunoichi."

A long, drawn out hesitation filled the room silently before he replied. "Very well... Sakura."

Her chin tilted up haughtily. "Indeed... Itachi."

He stared her down, not budging, not faltering even as she met him glare for glare, neither giving up the contest. She was still somewhat frightened of him, he knew she was, but even so she defied her own instincts. In the face of danger, she simply glared at it until the danger subsided. Strange... she wasn't at all like the mission objectives had stated. At first he had assumed that the leader had made a terrible mistake in assuming that this kunoichi had caused most of the damage to Sasori. The only prior reports on this girl had been pathetic at best, listed as incredibly intelligent but a complete failure at just about anything else. A weakling, emotionally abundant and too quick to give up. Well, apparently some things can change. "Tell me... how did you do it?"

She broke out of the staring contest with a sudden blink, caught off guard. "Excuse me?"

"How did Sasori die?"

Her eyes lowered just a little. "Oh... Well, I didn't do it alone. Chiyo was there to help as well, and without her level of experience, I wouldn't have lasted as long as I did."

"So you managed to kill him because of your combined efforts."

"Not... exactly." She paused, not sure how much she should tell him. "He hesitated. Chiyo said that she had left a very large opening that he could have used to his advantage, but he didn't."

He made a small disgusted noise before cutting it off. "That old fool." His glance turned back to her, wondering whether she was even of any use now that this information had come out. Well, her medical skills would be a good addition, at the very least. Even so, if it weren't for that, he might just have gone to the leader right then and there and demanded an explanation. It wasn't like him to make such an easy mistake.

She seemed to know exactly what he was thinking and her eyes drifted up to his. "You should have done your research more carefully."

"Do you really think that will convince me to let you go? Leader has his reasons for wanting to recruit you. Trying to make yourself seem weak won't change that."

She stewed for a moment, her brow furrowing though her voice was quiet. "Why the hell do you guys want me anyway?"

"You give yourself too little credit." He backed away, looking over out the window casually. "Even if you have to work with others to finish the mission, the fact that you are able to work with someone else is something in itself." When he saw that she was listening but not responding, he continued. "Other members have had... difficult times because they were unable to interact properly with their partners."

She glared at him coldly. "Is this all you came here for? To talk about crap I don't care about?"

"No." His eyes turned back to her swiftly. "Just the part about Sasori. Nobody is completely sure what happened during that battle. The damage to the cavern was extensive, and it didn't seem to be his handiwork."

Her eyes drifted down to the novel absently, trying not to gloat at his statement. "No, it wasn't."

"So it was you. How did you do it?"

"Wouldn't you like to know..." It took all her willpower to keep from smirking at her mischievous way of irritating him to no end. As long as she didn't raise a finger to harm him, he wouldn't hurt her. This was his mission after all, wasn't it? Recruit the hostage but don't harm? No, not quite. The leader had told him to do as he wished. He wasn't exactly bound to his mission anymore, but knowing what a perfectionist he was, he was going to do it anyway.

"Answer the question." His eyes narrowed dangerously. No, he wouldn't harm her. There were far more interesting ways to cause her trouble.

She caught on to his dangerous tone and picked up on the train of thought. Well, it wouldn't hurt to tease just a bit more. "It wasn't anything special, really. He attacked me with a very large block of iron made from the iron sand technique, I punched it, and it flew through the ceiling."

He paused, nodding slightly in confirmation. Interesting... there was only one way that was possible. "So you used your chakra controlling abilities to your advantage, sending it to your muscles and releasing it into your punch, making you far stronger than you would naturally be. Furthermore, you extended your chakra beyond yourself slightly to propel the object away."

Her eyebrows twitched reflexively at his perceptive nature. Well, damn. This guy really was a genius, just like everyone said. "Yes, that's right."

"I see."

She couldn't help making a jab at that remark. "Not for long, you won't."

His eyes widened as far as they could, the bloody red of the Sharingan blazing menacingly. With a flick of his cloak, he disappeared instantly before he could lose control. Mission or not, she had struck a very sensitive chord.

* * *

Sakura sighed again, flicking through the book on ninjutsu once more, getting bored. Her hands slowly made a few seals that she saw in the illustrations, memorizing every last one. Even though she didn't have any chakra right now, she could at least study. After a few long, silent moments, someone new entered the room quietly, stopping when they saw her there in the room.

"Oh, sorry, yeah." He came closer, his blond hair glowing slightly in the low light. "I just needed this, yeah..." His steps were hesitant and slow, his hand grabbing a book from the shelf behind her before he stared at her, an edgy glare on his face. This was the one that killed his old partner. She was the reason he was stuck with that prat Tobi. He didn't really bear a grudge against her. Honestly, if he had been in the same situation, he would have done the same thing. At the time, Sasori was her enemy and she had dealt with him accordingly.

She glanced up at him nervously but relaxed a little when she saw that he was just as nervous. He had said before, though, that Sasori was far stronger than himself, and seeing her must have made him feel more than just a little edgy. Her glance shifted to the book in his hand, the pink cover and bold red writing making her eye twitch. So that's who had stashed all those cheesy romance novels here. Now she was more confused than ever. Who knew that Deidara, the cocky, pyromaniac guy with an unstable attitude would like romance novels of all things? A slight smile tugged at the edge of her lips. "A little light reading today?"

He blushed furiously. "Hmph... They're not mine, yeah."

Her eyes met his lone blue eye with a smirk. "So you're just moving it to your room?"

His blush only deepened, though he tried to keep his usual cocky stance. "I was, yeah. I don't want you touching Danna's stuff, yeah."

Well, damn. If she thought she was confused before, this took the cake. "Wait a minute... Those belonged to Sasori?"

His eyebrow angled sharply. "Yeah. Probably had your blood stained hands all over them, yeah."

She waved her hand dismissively. "I wouldn't touch crap like that. Romance is overrated."

He sneered, getting irritated. "It's not crap, yeah. You just don't understand written art." He cocked his head, looking very much like a bird as he stared down at her collection of books. "Tsch... I'm surprised Itachi is letting you touch his stuff, yeah. Whatever, just don't go over that way." He pointed to a book shelf on the far side of the room near the window, bright orange books on the shelf. Those looked oddly familiar... "If you do, Leader-sama would be pissed, yeah."

Her eyes widened slightly, now recognizing the orange books. "Yeah right. Like I'd go anywhere near that trash." Wait, did he say the leader? Oh man... who would have guessed? It seemed to be that this was just her day for total confusion.

He finally grinned at her. "Don't let him hear you say that, yeah. Well..." He stared at the book in his hand, considering putting it back but then stashed it in his cloak. "You know, Sakura-san... The harder you resist the recruitment, the harder it's going to be for you, yeah."

She watched him curiously. "What do you mean?"

He hesitated, scratching his head nervously before sitting in the chair across from her. His voice was low, almost a whisper. "When they recruited me, I had one hell of a time for the first year, yeah."

"You didn't want to join Akatsuki?"

His eyes darted around nervously, hoping they wouldn't be overheard. "I never did, yeah. They captured me one day while I was blowing shit up, yeah. It was that damned Uchiha..." He hesitated, his jaw clenching briefly. "He caught me in his genjutsu and before I knew it, here I was. I still hate it here, yeah."

Her eyes darted to her hands, now clasped over the closed book. "I had no idea. I thought all of you Akatsuki wanted to be here. I thought... all of you joined just to kill people."

"Tsch... Only Hidan and Kakuzu kill people without reasons, yeah. Even then I think they have some kind of reason. Hidan does that stupid ritual thing, yeah. Well..." He leaned closer, his eyes not showing the hatred from before, only pity. "Take my advice, Sakura. Go along with it for now, at least until they give you a longer leash, yeah. If you resist, all they'll do is keep you in the compound until you rot, yeah."

She tensed. "What if they send me on a mission, though? What if they ask me to kill innocent people?"

He shrugged. "It's not that different from what your Hokage makes you do, yeah. Back in Iwa, we got all kinds of missions that involved murdering the innocent. Don't tell me you never got those, yeah."

It was so similar to what Itachi had gone on about, and she couldn't help but give the same answer. "Yeah. I have gotten missions like that. But... it was for the good of the village."

"What we do is for the good of our own little village, yeah." He grinned, spreading his arms emphatically. "See? This whole place is ours to protect, yeah. All of Amegakure looks up to us. I bet you didn't know that, yeah."

"You... protect this village? Why? Aren't you all missing nin? What happened here?"

"Leader-sama took over the place single-handedly, yeah..." He shuddered visibly. "That guy... gives me the creeps, yeah. It's those eyes... those steely gray rings..." He stood abruptly, making to leave. "Just think about what I said, yeah. It'll go a lot easier if you give in. At least until they get too confident, yeah." He made a gesture that may have been a wink, though with one eye it was hard to tell. She was left there to think over his words, not sure anymore how she would proceed. This was too much, too soon.


	4. Sprout

Part 4 - "Sprout"

As Sakura passed through one of the many angular hallways, she could have sworn she saw a pair of icy blue eyes watching her from the shadows but as soon as she turned, only the slightest flash of blue hair had told her she was right. Probably another unidentified Akatsuki member. Even if they gave up on her and dumped her in the forest somewhere, identifying the remaining unknown members would be useful information. However, it seemed the blue haired person avoided any contact whatsoever, seeing as Sakura had never spotted this one at meals. The Akatsuki leader was just as sparse, appearing in the main halls only when he had urgent mission details to give out.

What little she had seen of him had unnerved her, and she understood well why Deidara had been so scared of his countenance. His heavily pierced face and cold gray, ringed eyes held no emotion, only a silent, calm stare. Even Itachi wasn't that severe in his lack of emotion. The weasel had been avoiding her ever since she made the remark about his eyes, and in her opinion that was just perfect. The less she saw of him, the better. Chance meetings between them had resulted in the Sharingan involuntarily coming to life, glowing like hot coals through even the darkest shadow.

She had been walking through a very dark hallway and something red glinted for only a moment and she held her breath, wondering if he was there watching her. After a few feet her eyesight picked out the bright orange of the masked ninja Tobi. Odd... She could have sworn... He instantly ran to her side, jumping with excitement. "Sakura-san! Did you come to see Tobi today? Tobi is so excited!"

Even in the light of the nearest lantern, there was an odd sort of glow from inside that eye hole, but she supposed the lighting in this cavern made anyone look a bit off. Well, if she was going to get any information, this would be the right place to start. "I'm sorry, but I have to go and meet anyone that I might have missed. Do you know who the blue haired one is?"

He nodded briskly. "Konan-sama has been very busy with her missions with Leader-sama. Tobi doesn't think she would have time."

"She?" Her eyebrows raised at this statement. So there was a female in Akatsuki. From what it sounded like, she was also the leader's partner, and therefore probably one of the strongest kunoichi around. Maybe something good would come out of this little side adventure after all. "That's too bad, I really wanted to meet everyone..." She made a very convincing "I'm so sad, please pity me" kind of face, knowing that this particular person would go nuts for it.

He hesitated but soon waved his arms frantically. "Tobi will ask Konan-sama! Tobi will find Sakura-san soon!" After one last hop of excitement, he tore down the hall at top speed and Sakura stared after him curiously, making her way to the lounge, her initial destination. There was little to do around here and she mentally noted all of the members she knew about. Itachi and Kisame, obviously. Hidan, Kakuzu, Deidara, Tobi, Leader, Konan... eight. There should be nine. Who was missing?

Before she could think about it further, she found her way to the lounge where Hidan was... laying in a pool of blood. Her eyes widened as far as they could go as she watched him take his three-bladed scythe and struck it clean through his chest. Of course she was completely freaked out by the sight of him apparently killing himself, but her darker side convinced her that if he wanted to commit suicide, it would be a lot less trouble for her later on. After a slight pause and a short prayer, he took the scythe out of his chest and sat up, kneeling as he chanted another prayer. She was baffled. Shouldn't he be dead by now?

Hidan suddenly sensed her and looked at her interested but not scared gaze and he glared up at her sharply. "What the fuck are you looking at, Pink?"

She summoned her composure quickly and made a snarky remark. "Oh I was just standing here, enjoying the thought of you dying from massive blood loss."

He tilted his head arrogantly, a cocky smirk on his face. "Not gonna happen." With a tug, he lifted his scythe to his shoulders and rose slowly, walking over to her as his blood dripped all over the wooden flooring. Spattered crimson spray covered the wall where he had been facing, the Jashin curse seal drawn neatly on the floor with more messy blood stains all over the formerly sparkling floor.

Her mouth quirked in a wry smile. "What a fucking shame."

"Tsch... you're telling me. I do this shit every fucking day and all I get is filthy. I need to find some damn heathens, all this self sacrifice is getting boring." He suddenly jerked, startled by her hand suddenly inspecting the gaping wound in his chest. "HEY! What the fuck?"

She drew back her hand instantly, still looking at the hole curiously. "Even now the blood vessels are repairing themselves, even though it should have been a fatal wound. Interesting..." Her finger reached out again, nearing the same spot but he jerked out of the way again.

"HEY! Leave me alone you little cotton candy headed bitch! What the fuck are you doing?"

"Call it a morbid interest." When he edged back even further, she was about to pry a bit more but suddenly Kakuzu entered the room with a look of disdain, his stitched face stretching in a sneer.

"Hidan... You better be planning to clean this up."

Hidan glared across at his partner, his teeth bared with annoyance. "I don't need to, that little fucker Tobi will do anything, remember? Don't even have to pay the moron."

"Hn..." He sighed noncommittally before walking over to his partner, long threads extending from his outreached hand to sew the gaping wound in Hidan's chest. "Whatever, just stop bleeding all over the floor, idiot."

"Hey, that bleeding all over the floor is my fucking gift to Jashin! If you didn't have to be all sentimental and heal me all the fucking time, Jashin would get what was rightfully his!"

"If you didn't do those stupid rituals all the time, I wouldn't have to heal you, idiot."

"You fucking penny pinching bastard, I won't sacrifice glorifying Jashin so you can take it easy!"

Sakura managed to sneak out from between them, each far more interested in arguing with the other than investigating what she was doing here. Creeping into the hall silently, she sighed to herself, muttering quietly. "Geez... is it always this bad around here?"

"**Worse, usually.**" The deep voice of Zetsu's black half shot through the darkness and she almost jumped back in surprise but at the last second she steeled herself, rationalizing that nobody would harm her. Although... if she thought Kisame was scary... this guy... Her wide eyes stared up at the plant-like jaws that seemed to be growing out of his chest, his slender face two toned and split right down the middle, black and white. Apparently she had missed one after all.

She gave him one last cursory glance before speaking. "Sorry." Her mind suddenly berated itself. Why the heck was she apologizing to an Akatsuki member?

A lighter, friendlier tone seemed to come from his white half and she couldn't help but be curious about whether he had some split personality disorder. "Perhaps I should have watched where I was going. I'm sorry if I startled you, Sakura-san." Then his dark half blurted out a callous remark. "**We should just eat her and be done with it!**" His pale half chided the dark half quietly. "She is here on Leader's orders, we wouldn't want to do that."

She shook her head, trying to come to terms with what seemed to be TWO people in ONE body. "What was your name again... sir?" She had hesitated on the term, not sure if he was more man or plant.

His white hand reached forward kindly. "I am Zetsu." His black hand grabbed the white hand by the wrist, wrenching away from her. "**Don't touch that, you don't know where it's been!**"

She edged around him cautiously, sneaking away while he was locked in internal- and external- conflict with himself. As soon as she felt it was safe, she slowed her light run and walked down the halls, intending on going back to her room and staying there. She had had enough socialization for a very long time! When she stepped into her room, however, she saw the one person she had NEVER expected to see. Seated in a comfortable armchair near the rear bookshelf sat the infamous leader, one hand poised on an arm of the chair and the other holding none other than an orange covered book. Although she knew darn well he had spotted her and caught the harsh glare in the corner of her eye as she left, she had enough sense to leave with no questions asked. Well, damn. Now what?

"What are you doing?" The harsh glow of two Sharingan burned even in the bright light outside the small library and spare bedroom as she turned around sharply, facing the Uchiha. He had been avoiding her all day and all of a sudden he deigned her worth a second of his time?

Her eyebrows furrowed deeply and she glared right back at him. "What are YOU doing?"

He grabbed her shoulder, roughly pinning her against the wall. "I asked you a question, kunoichi."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "So did I, Uchiha."

His glare changed darker, the Mangekyo Sharingan flooding his irises as his anger rose. "Don't toy with me. What are you doing?"

"What business is that of yours?" She was taunting him too much, and she knew it, but damn, all these days of no talk, no action, nothing at all... It was getting under her skin. The tension was building the longer she avoided her recruitment. Deidara had warned her, but she was just so stubborn.

That did it for him. She had pushed one too many buttons, and he was not prevented by his mission from using the Tsukiyomi on her. If anything, it would probably be encouraged if it helped. His eyes spun violently, his cold, quiet voice only saying one harsh word. "Tsukiyomi." In a flash, they were transported to the realm of Tsukiyomi, the chill blackness seeming to suck the very breath from her, a bloody moon rising in the distance, lighting the clouds a sanguine hue. Black feathered crows called from atop their perches on broken staffs and pikes, red eyes beady against their ebony backdrops. A different set of red eyes surveyed her, hungry and thirsting for blood. As the swirling blades of the Mangekyo whirred, they seemed to take on a life of their own, guiding his actions as he summoned a tree with roots twisting around her and holding her in place.

She didn't know how much time had passed. Here in this realm, it could have been only an instant, it could have been much more. It was controlled solely by his willpower. The moment he inched closer, a long katana in hand, her eyes widened instead of shutting, her chin held steady with defiance. He would break her of this, he kept telling himself that some day he would shred her defiance into tiny pieces, strewn about carelessly. A sudden thrust and the katana pierced her abdomen, blood spewing violently as she coughed, spray exiting her lungs harshly.

Again and again he stabbed her, making copies of both of them and stabbing them as well, drawing the torture out into a long, painful burst. The agony was unfathomable, and somewhere in the middle of this, her inner thoughts called out to her. **That bastard... I'll kill him!** Her eyes widened suddenly and he was caught off guard, far too used to the limp body he had made her. In a burst of power, a dark shape loomed over her head, white kanjii on its forehead declaring it as Inner Sakura. Before he even knew what hit him, the demon had expelled his presence from her mind with a mental punch, uttering strings of profanity.

The inertia caused by the mental throw was drawn over into reality, causing him to stagger towards the door as the real Sakura punched him as hard as she could. Even without her chakra, she had trained long and hard enough to send him straight through the door and he landed with a thud against the tall bookshelf in the back, orange books spilling everywhere as the shocked leader looked on. None moved for several long, silent seconds, the only sound being Sakura's heavy breathing, still seething from the mental and physical effort. As the seconds drew out into minutes, the leader finished the last page of the book he was reading at the time and calmly rose, putting the volume back in numerical order just above where Itachi's head currently was. He didn't say a word as he passed by Sakura soundlessly, but she could tell that he was pissed beyond belief.

Itachi kept up the staring contest that had started the moment he came to his senses, the long pause extending well after the leader left. From his furious expression, she could tell that he was utterly livid about losing to the likes of a second rate kunoichi. He hadn't counted on her mental strength and her hatred of having her mind invaded. Of course he hadn't heard about how she had once chased away Ino's mind possession technique during the chuunin exams. Very few people had even found that the least bit remarkable. Now, however... Something like this had beaten the Tsukiyomi, one of the most dreaded eye techniques around. He would have to find some other way to get to her.

He managed to retain as much dignity as possible after being punched through a door and into a bookshelf by this tiny kunoichi, his back straight and his hands refraining from dusting himself off irritably. His stoic form passed right by her without incident, neither saying a word as she slammed the door behind him. As he made his way to his quarters for the night, he wondered how he would go about recruiting her. The Tsukiyomi wouldn't work. He would have to be... creative...


	5. Digging Deeper

A/N: I know that there's really not even any sort of agreement between these two yet, but look at who we're talking about here. Itachi? Come on. Sakura? They NEED lots of conflict before the chips hit the fan, but this chapter will be very interesting.

* * *

Part 5 - "Digging Deeper"

Itachi sat precariously at the edge of his chair in the dining room, not at all pondering the cup of tea in his hand, already cold to the touch. His hard eyes intensely studied the grain of the wood in the walls, though all he saw was blocky, blurred lines traced up along the panels. Soon his eyes drifted to the blurred blue face of his partner as the shark nin entered suddenly, greeting the Uchiha too cheerfully for his liking. "Morning, Itachi-san! Are you alright?"

"Hn." Itachi closed his eyes, returning his attention to the feel of the smooth ceramic cup under his fingers, the cool stone worn and slick.

"So what's the problem?" The shark always seemed to know exactly what Itachi meant even though all he uttered was a soft grunt. After all these years, though, he never deviated from what Kisame called the four moods of the Uchiha. Irritated, content, apathetic and murderous. His slight close of his eyes and the way his fingers brushed the surface of the cup meant that he was having trouble solving a difficult problem. The way his lips pursed slightly meant that this problem was particularly puzzling, and the slight shift of his feet under the table as he leaned back in his chair quietly showed that he was willing to hear his partner's feedback. Kisame grinned at the signs. "It's the girl, isn't it?"

"Nothing seems to work." His eyes stared back at the wall, at ease but still puzzled.

"Not even Tsukiyomi?" When his partner glared and drank the last of his tea in one large gulp, he deduced that no, it didn't work. "What happened?"

"That's what I wish to know. Some... _thing_ rose from the recesses of her mind and willed me out of it before I even knew what was going on. It's like she has a split personality."

Kisame grinned wide, his brows meeting with suppressed mirth. "You haven't tried seducing her yet?"

His icy stare lengthened as his hand paused in inspecting the cup. "That is not an option, Kisame."

He chuckled, ignoring the glare easily. "'course it is, you just gotta do it right. Come on, Itachi-san, you can't tell me that doesn't work well on women with your looks."

Well, he couldn't deny that, really. Everywhere the Uchiha went, he would attract women for miles whether he wanted them or not. However, most of the time he didn't want them. "You are ignoring one small matter, Kisame. She is not like other women. Others have no qualms about approaching me since they know so little about my nature. However, she sees me as a ruthless bastard, incapable of such emotions. There is no possible way I can make it seem convincing."

"Well you don't have to be all mushy with her, you know. Just be your usual intimidating self, with more proximity. Don't stand in a corner, try getting uncomfortably close. At least try to do your job right." He winked slyly, knowing that the perfectionist inside Itachi was probably ready to explode. Above all else, he wanted to finish the mission within the initial mission objectives, the kunoichi remaining physically unharmed and willingly joining Akatsuki. If it meant falling back on the play of seduction, he'd probably do it.

"Hn." He picked up his glass suddenly, rising with his typical grunt and leaving the room without a sound after depositing the cup in the sink. Kisame knew that this meant he accepted the plan but of course that didn't mean he approved of it, and his heavier than usual footsteps as he exited the kitchen confirmed it. The Uchiha stalked down the hallway nervously, trying to formulate some kind of tactical plan to execute. This would be quite a challenge. She wasn't exactly an ordinary girl. Instead of crying or being scared like any other female, when she was captured she had resisted with every fiber of her being. Not physical, no. The other, more irritating way. Her idea of good books included medical texts and ninjutsu, of all things. Those sappy romance novels hadn't even phased her.

Well, damn. What was he going to do? She seemed to be a tomboy, though a highly compassionate one at that. He had to somehow cause her to use her compassionate nature and get her to be forced into close proximity for an extended period. That meant... He hesitated before knocking on Deidara's door, but there really wasn't any other option. The blond opened the door after a moment and stared at him curiously. "What do you want, un?"

Itachi barely faltered. "I want you to beat me within an inch of my life."

The blond could barely believe his ears. Was this a dream? "Are you serious, un? Why?"

"Mission." His words were sparse, especially around this particular man. He knew that Deidara still held a grudge against him and would not need much preamble to convince.

"You sure Leader won't get mad, un?" At the Uchiha's slight incline of the head, he hesitated only briefly. "If you say so, un. Just don't kill me later for it."

* * *

Itachi woke several hours later to the sound of people bustling around and machines whirring softly, and he knew that Deidara had indeed beaten him to within an inch of his life, if not less. He had to hand it to the guy, the explosives master packed almost as much physical punch as his ridiculous art. When he opened his eyes he had to prevent a look of smug satisfaction from creeping onto his face as he saw Sakura tending to one of the machines. No, she couldn't let a patient die, not even him. Perfect.

He also saw that Deidara was in the room, looking... worried? And here he thought that the guy would be holding back his amused laughter. Apparently he hadn't expected that he did so much damage to the Uchiha and almost looked like he regretted it. Almost. "Oh, so you're awake now, huh?" Bold green eyes stared down at him with a hint of disappointment. "What the heck did you do to make Deidara so angry at you? I asked him but he refused to say anything except that he kicked your sorry ass."

Itachi paused for a moment. "I insulted his art. Normally he only talks and never acts on his emotions, and I suppose I was caught off guard when he threw the first punch. It must have knocked me out."

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose with irritation. "Boys... typical."

He affected a bemused look and his head rose slightly. "Why did you help me?"

Her hesitation was palpable, though she answered truthfully. "It was for Sasuke."

His eyes wanted so badly to narrow at the mention of his idiot brother but he resisted. "Is that so? How is this an act for my foolish brother?"

"He wants his revenge on you, and he can't exactly do that if you're already dead. If he wants to avenge his clan so bad, then I can at least do this much for him." Her look turned slightly wistful, though it wasn't in the usual sappy way that he saw most females get about a lost love. The look in her eyes was completely open, honest, a true regret for a good friend.

He scoffed, his usual indifference simmering through his formerly curious façade. "Avenge his clan... Is he really that stupid?" Seeing that Itachi would be just fine and spouting his usual cold remarks soon enough, Deidara left the scene, still not quite catching on to why Itachi wanted to be beaten up.

She was immediately defensive. "He's not stupid. He wants to get revenge on you for killing your clan, and maybe do to you what you've done to him all these years. You deserve it." She emphasized her point by crossing her arms and glaring at him.

Though he tried to hide it, a small glimmer of reflection shone in his eyes. "What I did to him? And what exactly did I do, Sakura?" He knew well what he was doing by using her name again, earning her trust subtly.

She paused, not sure why he was asking these kinds of questions. Usually the topic of his brother was a touchy subject, and he rarely lingered on it for long. Maybe it would be the right time to tell him exactly what she thought. Not that he could harm her much in his condition. "He admired you, you know. When you did that to him, it hurt him deeper than you can even imagine. Something broke inside him that day, and it will never heal. I'm sure you were... close before?"

He hated talking about this. Really, he did, but this seemed to be one topic that she was willing to respond to favorably. How would she react to the truth? Should he tell her? She didn't seem to be one to go around telling this to everyone, keeping most secrets exactly the way they should be kept. Could she even handle the truth? It was likely she wouldn't believe him. At the very least, he could try. "We were."

A moment passed as she found a damp cloth and put it on his forehead; only then did he notice his forehead protector was gone. Her look was one of slight confusion and a hint of sadness. "Then why did you do it? Why did you kill them? Why did you only leave him to suffer like that?"

His eyes closed and he shook his head slightly. "You would never believe the truth. There are things none of us were ever meant to know, and this is something I cannot tell you." No, of course not. He would hold out and make the scene more dramatic. Of course he knew what he was doing. This hesitation and finally revelation would undoubtedly work.

As expected, she took the bait, quirking her head and frowning. "What, you're saying I can't handle the truth? You're just going to say the same old thing. You wanted power, and you want Sasuke to be there to give yourself something to measure your strength by, right? If that's all, I've already heard it." When she finished, he stared at her with an unreadable gaze for a long moment. Something about the way he looked at her told her that she was completely wrong, and yet how could she be? Of course that's all he ever wanted, right? Yet there in the depths of his gaze, something wasn't right. It was almost like he was insulted that she would think him so pathetic as to only desire power. When he looked away again, his calm, soft voice began telling the short but impacting truth.

He didn't care if she knew. There was nothing either of them could do about it at this point. If this could win over her sympathy, then he would tell her, even if she didn't believe it. "It was a mission given to me by the elder council of Konoha. However, they wished for me to kill Sasuke as well as all the others, but my hand stayed at the last moment, allowing him to live. The murder of the Uchiha clan was not the reason I became a missing nin, but rather my failure to do so. They warped and twisted the situation. Whether you believe me or not, that is what happened that day."

She bit her lip, moving to sit in the chair next to the low examination table, her eyes refusing to meet his as she pondered what he was saying. The elder council, ordering the extermination of the Uchiha? Although he undoubtedly didn't expect her to believe him, something that happened not that long ago came forward in her mind. Danzo was a member of the elder council. He had ordered Sai to follow their group and kill Sasuke. Perhaps he was trying to finish what Itachi started, now that Sasuke was no longer under the village's watchful eye. Though she did think that Itachi was still a bastard, he wasn't one to lie in such a way as this. This was a serious situation. She finally spoke, her voice low and ponderous. "It was Danzo, wasn't it?"

Now that was unexpected! His eyes widened slightly before he turned to look at her, wondering how the heck she managed to figure it out. "How do you know about Danzo?"

"One of the team members we took with us to find Sasuke was a member of ROOT. I'm sure you know about that. While it appeared to be his mission to help us rescue Sasuke, in reality he had been given orders to assassinate Sasuke. He revealed to us that Danzo had ordered this, and I had remembered earlier that Tsunade had told me to watch our new member closely. I know that she has been at odds, to say the least, with Danzo ever since the beginning. Now it makes sense, though. I think..." She looked back up at him, amazed that she could even say this. "I think I believe you when you say that he ordered you to do that. The only question left is why?"

"Danzo wants to be Hokage. The elders didn't support the way the Uchiha clan had become, they were too content with the way the village was being run by the Hokage at the time. In the time of Konoha's founding, the first Hokage and Uchiha Madara disagreed on the way the village was run, and it could be possible that the elders secretly supported Madara. However, instead of revolting and taking over the village like they very well could, the Uchiha started supporting the first and eventually became the police force governing the city under the Hokage's rule. It's just a theory."

"Uchiha Madara? I haven't heard of him before."

He shook his head slowly. "No, you wouldn't have. After his battle with the first in the Valley of the End, his name was scorned and stricken from any records they could find. However, they didn't count on Madara surviving that battle, much less living even to this very day." His voice lowered, making it known that this was a secret. Why was he telling her this much? At first he had wanted to gain her sympathy, but now... Now it was as if telling _someone_ about this whole mess was a relief, a weight off his shoulders to finally be able to share this with someone that believed him. "Madara is still alive and well, and he is in this building even as we speak."

Her eyes widened. "He's here? Is he... one of the Akatsuki members?" Her breath hitched and she went over everyone she knew in Akatsuki, rejecting each person in turn until she remembered that day in the hallway, confronted by the strange glint from a certain person's sole eye. "Oh no... Tobi? Is that who it is?"

His own eyes widened in surprise, and he nodded appreciatively. "You are indeed as intelligent as your records state, if not more so. You are correct. Tobi is Uchiha Madara, and not just an Akatsuki member, but the very founder of Akatsuki itself."

"So, your leader..."

"Is not really our leader, no. Pein is acting as the leader to give Madara the proper cover and protection, as well as execute the more difficult missions. Even so, he is leader in name only."

She shook her head slowly. "That's insane... Why are you telling me all of this?"

He stared at the ceiling, refusing to look at those curious green eyes. Something about them just made him feel uneasy. "At first I did not intend to. I expected you to get angry and storm off. However, it seems we both know more than we let on, and once you started talking about Danzo, I knew you would understand the rest of it. I gave you too little credit."

She couldn't stop a slightly smug look from glancing her face. "Everyone does. It's how I manage to surprise them and kill them so quickly. My enemies underestimate me and pay the price."

He chuckled lightly, almost smiling as he looked back at her. "I can assure you that I will not make such a grievous mistake ever again. I am sure that my foolish brother has done the same in underestimating you, and he too will pay the price."

She couldn't be sure what he meant by that cryptic remark but she let it go into the back of her thoughts while she contemplated everything else that had been said. Why did she believe him so easily? What he said about Danzo had been easy to believe, after what Tsunade had told her. It would explain Danzo's vehement disrespect for Tsunade, the granddaughter of the first. It explains why Danzo sent Sai to kill Sasuke, even though for some time Sasuke hadn't even caused any noticeable problems. They couldn't have done it while Sasuke was still in the village, with Kakashi watching him constantly and being out in the open all the time.

However, accepting this would mean accepting that Itachi wasn't the heartless scumbag she had been brought up to believe. She would have to accept him as another human being, desensitized by whatever horrible training he had endured in his past and then ordered to kill his whole clan without a second thought. She knew the basics of the kind of training that went on behind those locked doors. It was horrible, robbing people of their emotions, of their rational thought, of love and compassion. Of course he was able to kill them all. That was all he had been taught. Yet at the last moment, his hand stayed and his brother, his one precious person in all those uncaring people, had been spared. When she looked back at Itachi, his eyes were closed and he was asleep, but she could sense the relief he had in finally telling someone what really happened. She could only wonder why he trusted her so innately.


	6. Searching for Light

A/N: I've been trying to keep these two as much in character as possible. The way that Itachi's character keeps getting changed in the manga is making this difficult, but believe me, I'm trying. Sakura is pretty much in character, I've always perceived her as being a logical, compassionate person, capable of understanding where Itachi is coming from. Making Sakura older too. Deal with it. I also feel it prudent to remind you that this fic is rated mature. As in, do not read this if you are under age. No, that is definitely not a hint of things to come... Er... anyway, I do not own Naruto, because if I did, Itachi would live.

* * *

Part 6 - "Grasping at Light"

She paced in the kitchen nervously, her mind constantly going over everything she had learned in the past few days. Her attention was barely focused on the pot of boiling noodles and the pan of vegetables she was frying, everything swimming through her head in a murky haze. First and most troubling of all, Itachi wasn't as horrible as everyone- including herself- had formerly believed. He had been manipulated and used just like any other shinobi that worked in ROOT or ANBU. It was just like the things they had done to Sai, making him an emotionless killing machine, not even knowing the meaning of friendship. However, Sai had a brother too, and it was on this same common link that she was able to compare him to Itachi.

Granted, nobody liked Sai, being the clueless guy he was. Between his insults and his constantly impassive fake smile, she supposed that he and Itachi were much more alike than she could have realized before. However, at some point Itachi had realized that what he was doing was wrong, and he stopped before killing Sasuke. Sai too had realized the meaning of friends, and in his desire to learn more about friends, he too refused to kill Sasuke. In the end, she had accepted Sai as a comrade and even a friend, willing to forgive him after remembering how cruel ROOT could be. Did that mean she could forgive Itachi? Sai hadn't killed off a clan or anything like that, but would he, had he been given such an order?

He would. Back before he knew the true meaning of friends, back when all his mind was about was the mission ahead, he would have killed off an entire clan without a second thought, possibly not even staying his hand for his own brother. Did that mean Itachi had more compassion than Sai? Well, no, it meant that Itachi hadn't fit well with the kind of training that ANBU gave him, and therefore had the capacity to be compassionate. It didn't mean he actually was. Even so, he had spared his brother, not for a quest for power, but because he truly cared.

She was drawn from her internal conflict by a loud scuffle outside the door frame, and yelling voices could be heard as Deidara and Tobi fought their way into the hall. Tobi managed to push Deidara aside, shoving himself into the room and yelling loudly. "Tobi wins, Deidara-senpai!" She watched the pair curiously, wanting to learn more about them.

"You cheated, you filthy little runt, yeah!" Deidara entered quickly, pouncing on the masked nin to get him into a headlock. "Try cheating your way out of this, you bastard, yeah!"

She would never know how he did it, but Tobi somehow managed to slip out of Deidara's tight grip. "Hey hey, easy senpai! Tobi is a good boy!" She just couldn't believe this. This guy was the great Uchiha Madara, the founder of the leaf village and the guy who started Akatsuki? He must be going insane in his undoubtedly old age, she reasoned. Why else would he act like such an idiot? Although, what better way to hide the poison amongst the food than to cover it with a bit of sauce? It was probable that he was merely acting. Even so, he was a REALLY good actor.

Deidara was about to tackle Tobi again but Sakura cut him off with a yell. "Deidara, don't you think you've caused enough injuries for the week? If I see one more person hospitalized today, you will be the next one joining them!"

He knew better than to take her threat lightly, after hearing what she did to the bookcase in her room after Itachi did something to her. Everyone had found out in their own subtle way. He dusted off his cloak as he rose, frowning but sitting at the table in a civil manner. "Tsch... Whatever, as long as that brat doesn't start anything again, yeah."

She had to hold back a smile at that. So Tobi was the new brat, huh? "If you both shut up, I might just share what I'm cooking with you." A long silence followed and she heaved a mental sigh, glad to have a small moment of peace, as short as it may be. She finished the vegetables and noodles, mixing everything until she had a very tempting bowl of lo mein, enough to serve all three of them. Tobi must have been the sneakiest person she had ever seen, somehow slipping those noodles up under his mask without even a hint of chin or anything. The small, insignificant things he managed to do so well only helped her believe that he was indeed more than he let on. It should have been impossible for him to escape Deidara's headlock, and yet he slipped out as if it was nothing. He should have the manners of a two year old, since he acted so much like one, yet his manners were pristine, and she saw beneath the carefully cultivated guise now that she knew.

* * *

"How are you holding up, Itachi-san?"

He knew that "Itachi-san" anywhere. His tired dark eyes opened slowly, greeting his guest with his usual lack of excitement. "Kisame." He didn't bother to answer the question. The answer should have been obvious anyway.

The shark nin never seemed to lose his trademark grin, the nearly obscene pleasure at anyone's poor condition always present. However, Kisame had always held true concern for his long time partner's condition ever since the first incident with the Mangekyo and in private he let his concern show. His smirk finally left in favor of a concerned, straight face as he sat on the chair next to the table, sighing and looking the Uchiha over carefully. "What the hell did you say to make Deidara so pissed?"

Itachi scoffed, the slightest irritated glimmer crossing his features. "I said that the only thing his clay was good for was caulking a log house."

Kisame winced. "Ouch. No wonder he hates you, huh? Guess that kid still has a grudge against you for the whole recruitment business too, you suppose?"

"It is likely."

"How are your eyes?"

Itachi groaned mentally. Always about the eyes. He glanced up at the ceiling, observing the detail in the pitted surface. Then he glanced at his partner, somehow able to see the small scaly texture of the man's skin, the tiny filters inside his gills. It was only then that he realized he could see better than ever. His eyes widened suddenly and he sat up with a start, looking closely at his hands. Every ridge of his fingerprints showed clearly, every fold and wrinkle. "I can see everything. What did she do...?"

This time it was Kisame's turn to lean forth with astonishment. "What, did she heal your eyes or something? Why the hell would she do that?"

"That is what I was wondering." He thought a bit more before it became clear. "Of course. She did it for my foolish brother as well. She said that was the reason she saved me; she wishes for my brother to have his revenge. Perhaps she thought it would be best that I was at my best if I am to fight him properly."

"It still makes no sense. You're still after that little jinchuuriki friend of hers, the nine tails. Why would she want to make it easier for you to get at him?"

"I suppose she expects that my brother will kill me and thus save her friend in the process." He stretched experimentally, twisting his muscles to see just how far he had been healed. Aside from a few minor pains, he felt better and he rose slowly, his eyes not meeting his partner's as he strode to the door. "Perhaps she shall get her wish, but not yet. First she must see Akatsuki for what it truly is." He glared coldly down at Kisame, his icy glare not at all affecting the shark nin's jovial grin at his partner's improved mood. Yes, that was Itachi. If he looked at you coldly, he was content. "I suppose I shall go through with the plan you have suggested. If I cannot make her see things logically, I shall make her see things emotionally. Perhaps her iron grip on her emotions will loosen if the right threads are pulled."

Kisame's grin widened and the shark winked slyly. "Hey, remember now, Leader wants her in one piece. Don't get too exuberant with her!"

Itachi paused in the doorway, his head faced away from the other as he addressed the shark coldly. "Kisame."

"Yes, Itachi-san?"

"You disgust me."

He grinned even wider. "You always have had a way with words."

* * *

Konan walked silently next to her partner as they walked the hall towards the back of the complex and she halted right next to the broken door and inside, the broken bookshelf. To be more specific, Pein's bookshelf. She stared for a long moment before turning to her partner. "Pein. What happened here?"

His cold gray eyes whirred for a minute before he responded in his usual impassive voice. "Itachi and Sakura happened."

She glanced once more at the destruction and then back to him. "Should I...?"

He shook his head sharply. "No, not yet." He continued walking and she followed him as usual, not questioning his suggestion. Not orders. He no longer gave her orders, they were requests that she always followed through with. She would follow him, and he knew she would, they no longer needed to order each other about and pretend they owned each other. They already did. After a moment, he paused in mid-stride and turned to her abruptly. She knew by now how to predict his every move and stopped at the precise moment he did, looking up into his eyes as he spoke. "It would be a good idea if you talked to the kunoichi."

She nodded slowly, her low voice barely audible. "Of course it would be." In a flash she disappeared, a cloud of paper butterflies left in her wake, Pein's cold countenance the only presence left in the dark hallway, his glimmering Rin'negan whirring as he watched the hall cautiously.

* * *

Sakura was about to clean up the plates left from lunch as she heard Deidara shift in his seat nervously, sounding a bit agitated. She glanced behind her, noticing that Itachi had finally recovered and sat across from Deidara with no concern for the other's feelings. Well, at least he was feeling better. The two rivals glared at each other for a long moment, the tension thickening with every passing second until she was saved by the appearance of the strange blue haired woman. Her pale blue eyes took one look at the crew gathered around the table and she frowned slightly. One look at her small frown and Deidara straightened in his seat instantly, at attention and alert. Itachi only nodded slowly as he addressed the sole female Akatsuki member. "Konan-san."

She nodded before seating herself politely. "Itachi." As soon as she sat, she glanced at the other two men, her gaze disapproving but she said nothing else, instead turning to face Sakura. "Sakura-san. Good day."

A slight glimmer of attitude surged up in her mood for just the slightest moment as she finished the last dish. "Well if you're looking for lunch, you just missed it. I'm not making more."

Konan only inclined her head politely, not being one to rise to taunts easily. "I'll manage. I do not think we have met yet."

Sakura only glanced back once, turning back abruptly to put away the plates. "No. We haven't."

By this time, the men at the table were all in various states of rapt attention, watching the duel of the women intently, seeing who would fold first. Deidara had his bets set on Sakura caving in first, knowing her volatile attitude well. Itachi also had his bets set on Konan holding out longer, having known the woman a little better than most other Akatsuki members had. Konan calmly folded her hands in front of her and Itachi knew that gesture well. She was irritated, but wanted to control herself. "Then allow me to introduce myself. I am Konan."

"Yeah." She knew she was irritating the woman. Heck, she was probably doing this on purpose. Maybe this thrilled her, doing these dangerous things. Well, not dangerous. They wouldn't hurt her, and maybe that was the most empowering thing about the situation. As long as she was civil enough, just barely, they would have no real cause to do anything to her. It was possible that they would even let her go just to get rid of her if she really made a pest of herself. She didn't even look at the woman again, only finishing the job and leaving the room without another word, leaving Konan behind to stew alone.

Itachi watched as Sakura left, looking back at Konan, the blue haired woman still carefully composed though her mouth was twitching slightly. He knew that was bad, and he knew all too well to be out of there as soon as possible. Carefully and quietly, he rose, trying his hardest to not agitate the already irritated woman. Though she appeared outwardly calm, he knew that any sudden movement would anger her. Just as he walked through the door, he called back to her. "Konan-san, I appreciate the gesture but do not interfere with my mission again." Without another sound, the door closed behind him, followed by the noise of her taking out her aggression on the only two left in the room. He was smiling inwardly, thinking that Deidara might just be getting what he had done to the Uchiha only hours before.

* * *

He cornered Sakura in the hallway only moments after she left, confronting her in such a way that she couldn't try to escape. His cold glare was enough to keep her immobile, though she offered her own heated glare in return. It was the clash of fire and ice when they locked gazes, each time harsher than the last, the very fabric of their beings warped and twisted by the other's mere presence. He pinned her with his gaze, looking down at her impassively. "If you are to maintain good standing within the organization, you would do well to not treat your superiors in such a way."

Her eyes narrowed as she glared up at him. Though he may have the capacity for compassion, she still wanted nothing to do with Akatsuki, and nothing more to do with him. Everything he was saying, everything that had been done, all of it was happening at a rate that even her quick mind had trouble keeping up with. "I'm not a member of your idiotic organization and I never will be! Even if everything you say is true..." She shook her head, avoiding his gaze. "I could never join this organization that only seeks to hurt people! All you do is cause more problems!"

He paused, waiting until she had the courage to look up at him again. When she didn't, he grew impatient and grabbed her chin roughly, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Again you understand so little. The purpose of Akatsuki is to end war. Don't you see it? If Akatsuki takes over the world, there will be no more war, no more strife. Under our leader's command, we can end war once and for all and free this world from the clutches of pain."

Though she wanted to shiver under the weight of his gaze, she kept calm, trying to make sense of what he said. This couldn't be right. Itachi, the clan slaughterer, seeking a world without war? That was ridiculous. He was a hypocrite, right? How could someone who murdered so many in cold blood really be seeking an end to such murders? "You really expect me to believe that you, of all people, truly seek a world without war?" Her blazing eyes locked with his, emerald and ebony dueling silently as he maintained his grip, his voice growing lower and softer with emphasis.

"That's why they had to die. They threatened the safety of the village, and for that they suffered exactly the way they were meant to."

Now that was something he hadn't mentioned before. Forgoing caution, she questioned him more. "What do you mean by the safety of the village?"

"Do you remember what I asked you not long ago? What would you do if a clan within your village were proven to be your new enemies? Would you kill them? You said that if it were proven without a doubt, you would kill them to spare your precious village. At the same time, you would spare those closest to you if it were possible. Do you get it now?"

He paused and she stared back silently, trying to understand the implications of what he was telling her. Her breath came in harsh bursts as she realized what he was getting at. "You... no... you have to be lying! How... why? Are you saying that the Uchiha were... trying to destroy the village?" As her eyes widened, he noticed that he could see every small detail, every eyelash that rose with her shocked expression. Every tiny pattern in the irises, the dilation of the pupil, all of the unseen finally visible, in more ways than one. Her tension was causing her to quiver slightly in his grasp, but he wasn't about to let up. He only pressed closer, until he was nearly against her slight body, dominating the space around her. "That is exactly what happened. On that day, I killed my father as he planned the coup to take down Konoha as you knew it. While he intended for me to spy on the village and relay information back to him, at the same time I was relaying information about the clan to officials in Konoha." He drew closer, his lips nearly next to her ear as his voice was barely above a whisper, echoing something she had said to him not long ago, though it was a different version. "When I did that to him, he wasn't the only one harmed by it. It affected far more than you can even imagine. Something broke that day, and it will never be the same."

She couldn't stop her nervous shaking, not exactly intimidated but rather scared- scared to think of what would happen if he really was telling the truth. There was only one thing to do. She had to ask more, find out as much as possible, true or otherwise. "You didn't kill Madara."

"He helped me kill them." His grip tightened on her jaw, nearly turning into a choke though his face didn't move from its close proximity to hers. "In exchange for the village's safety, I did not reveal his identity, and he helped end the Uchiha clan as it was. Now he leads Akatsuki in its final task, taking over the world and ending war once and for all."

This wasn't at all like the initial theory he had posed to her before. No, this wasn't just a theory, the tone in his voice spoke truth, this was the real story behind the attacks. She avoided his gaze, glaring down at the floor instead as she spoke softly. "If that's true, then all along you were trying to save the village. But... I can't believe that, how can I? All this time..." She shuddered in his grasp, shutting her eyes, refusing to believe this was even happening.

"Not everything is as it seems, is it?" He loosened his grip, growing thoughtful as the slight reminisces in his memory mingled with his words. "Even the Third wasn't all he appeared to be. He knew about the potential the Uchiha had to revolt and take over the village, and he alone wanted to reconcile with the Uchiha, trying to make peace. However, his time ran out and I was issued the order." He had no idea why he was telling her so much. All these years of stewing and keeping things to himself, especially in the face of such a tormenting target, was all too much to bear. She tormented him just as much as he tormented her, she reminded him of all he had wished to forget, he told her all the things she thought herself better off not knowing. Now, neither could forget, neither could go back and pretend that these things never happened.

"I did it to save Konoha... to save your oblivious friends..." He paused, knowing that she was vulnerable, knowing that if he wanted to follow through with his plan, now was the time to strike. "I suppose I even did it for you, though we hadn't met until after that fateful day. Even now I do what is best for you, keeping you where you belong with Akatsuki." His forehead was nearly touching hers, the tension severe and making both their hearts pound with anticipation. "You belong in this place, where you are no longer the weakest link. You belong where you won't be treated as a mere tool to be used in a senseless war. You belong here with me." He didn't pause, relying on his instincts to do what his mind had so long ago forgotten, closing the already minute gap between them, his lips meeting hers as fire and ice clashed in a terrible combination, the tension between them only fueling the atrocity.

She couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't think. The long tension had finally broken, resulting in a most unexpected gesture. Though her mind was probably screaming at her to break away, another stronger part was urging her on, giving in to the odd, confusing emotions welling up within herself. It was all wrong, wanting to kiss back, wanting to feel this fatal attraction over and over. She should have pulled away when she had the chance, she should have done something to STOP him, to stop herself! She couldn't. She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe, couldn't think. Her body responded without her consent, doing exactly what she despised most, giving in to his advance, wanting to believe what he was telling her. She couldn't stop herself. She couldn't stop him. All she could do was give in, falling prey to what he was making her feel.

It was for the mission. That was what he had told himself initially. That's all that kept him on this path, or at least it was. Initially, he had intended this to be a means of gaining her trust, recruiting her through the back-handed method of seduction. It was working, but he hadn't intended for it to work both ways. True, women had kissed him before- heck, he had to kiss a _man_ once for a mission-, but it had been for the sake of the mission, that was the way it had always been. He would seduce them, they would give up information, they would die. She was meant to stay alive, not as an informant but as a permanent member. Maybe that was the difference? No, this thing he felt with the clash of their two powerful minds- _too_ powerful minds- sent a since unfelt sense of dominant desire, latent for so long. It wasn't meant to go both ways. It was never meant to be like this. This couldn't be happening... not now... not ever. Not like this, not so close to the end of his days. Why now, of all times?

Nothing like this had ever happened before. All of the previous missions had felt so bland, so average and of so little consequence. Now, as he felt himself get closer still, pressing his own lithe body against hers, he felt a surge of power jolt between them. He knew he was still human, still capable of baser emotions and instincts, but he had thought that he had trained them away, locked behind the invincible iron gate. Apparently he had thought wrong, and the dangerous feeling of lust was threatening to take over, knowing he was vulnerable and inexperienced. This was no longer just a power play between the two of them, this was a four sided battle. While he was dueling with her, he was dueling with his inner self, and it was possible she was doing the same. He hadn't the slightest idea how to control such a rampant urge and he was losing to it fast.

A sudden noise in the hallway brought him to attention instantly, ears and eyes straining to find out who could have been there. Had someone been there this whole time? His eyebrows furrowed with frustration as he drew back from his prey, looking at her coldly once more before disappearing in a cloud of smoke, eyes wide and confused. What was he supposed to do now? This mission was getting out of hand. This whole situation was getting out of control. He was no longer the master of the domain that was his own mind, thrown askew by this strong willed woman with pink hair. As he disappeared, he caught the look of shock on her face, along with something he had rarely seen before. Was she really just as drawn to him as he had been inexplicably drawn to her, or had their long-time battle of the wills been all that had started the fire?

* * *

She was left there against the wall, shocked beyond coherent speech. For several moments she stood there until she slid down the wall, exhausted physically and mentally. After a long pause, she heard softly approaching footsteps and was surprised to see Kisame. Not so much surprised to see him as she was surprised by the look on his face. His usual smirk was long gone and he looked down at her with genuine concern.

He stayed back a respectful distance and spoke softly. "Hey... You alright, kid? Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head quickly, avoiding his gaze and sliding nearer to the wall defensively. "No, I'm alright."

He supposed that someone like Deidara or Tobi would have tried to comfort her or something like that, but he was older and more experienced and knew better than to do such a thing. She was in a very vulnerable state and would probably lash out if anyone so much as laid a finger on her. He kept silent, waiting for a response, far more patient than his comrades and willing to wait until she felt comfortable enough to speak again.

She stayed like that for several long minutes, trying to overcome the terrible shock that she had been subjected to over the past days. When she looked up again, Kisame was still crouching at a reasonable distance, waiting for something. Waiting for what? She really expected him to laugh at her expense or crack some kind of innuendo about the compromising situation but he didn't. From the beginning he had seemed like someone who could never lose the crude humor he seemed to have been born with, but today was just full of surprises. _Not everything is as it seems, is it?_ Those words ran through her mind over and over, becoming more and more true as each moment passed, Kisame still patiently waiting for her. He wasn't the way he had initially seemed. Nothing was. Even she wasn't, she supposed, from their perspective. Maybe they had been expecting the weakling from so many years ago, the pathetic excuse of a kunoichi she had been. They were surprised, she was surprised, nothing was as it seemed. At long last she made eye contact, pausing as she spoke. "What do you want?"

He also paused, choosing his words carefully. "Just seeing if you were alright. He tends to be a little... harsh sometimes." A small grin crept onto his face, remembering all the times that he himself had gotten on the Uchiha's bad side. There was a reason that the kid had been paired with Akatsuki's biggest, most durable member. "You can't imagine how many times that kid has thrown me out the window just because I looked at him sideways!" He grinned wider, chuckling at his own joke, trying to lighten the mood. It must have succeeded, because he saw the smallest smile escape from her. With a shrug, he continued. "Took me a whole week to recover, and you know what? Just one day after I got out, I was asleep- like a rock!- and he threw me out a window again! For no reason! Leader was pissed, and I wasn't even given any leave to recover again, though it wasn't my fault that time. I had to go through our mission on crutches!"

She pictured Kisame trying to swing his great sword around while on crutches and she had to laugh, just a little, at the amusing mental image. Before long they were both laughing, the mood just a little lighter than before, and she finally got the courage to be a little more open with him. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I didn't... want to freak out in front of you."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Nah, everyone does that around him." Slowly, he stood, nodding down the hallway. "Hey, come on, how about we go talk about it." He grinned thoughtfully. "I'm not as much of a pain to talk to as the others, right?"

Another small laugh came from her and she nodded, really needing to talk to _someone_ even if it was another Akatsuki member. Things were just... so confusing. "I guess not.." She followed after him and realized he was taking her to one of the few empty rooms in the compound, a small lounge with comfortable chairs seated near a fireplace. He took the most heavily used chair near a wall, and she supposed he came here quite often, this place obviously his spot. She sat on the low couch nearby, looking at the small but spacious room, wondering why she had never come here before. Too much else to worry about, probably. It was only a moment before he spoke up.

"So how do you like it, kid? Well, besides the crazy other members?" He smirked, probably just as irritated by the other Akatsuki members as she was.

She sighed lightly. "Crazy is right. I can't even believe I'm talking to you. I mean, I seriously expected you to laugh at me or something stupid like that, but you just sat there, waiting for something. What were you waiting for anyway?"

He shrugged and looked at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Can't catch something if it knows it's being chased, right? I know better than that by now." He looked back at her, grinning slyly. "I guess some things just aren't what they seem, are they kid?"

Her eyebrows angled sharply but she was still smiling. "I'm not a kid. I'm eighteen."

A slight chuckle rumbled deep in his chest. Those two were so much alike, so proud, too haughty for their own good, it was no wonder Itachi had attacked her in such an... unusual manner. "And I'm over thirty, so yes, you're a kid. Damn, though... at least I look my age. Not like that weirdo Sasori. I suppose he had it coming to him, what you did, after all his rants about how his art was so superior to whatever the rest of us were doing. He got on everyone's nerves, even Leader. Heck, even me, and I'm pretty good with just about anybody here, but I gotta tell you, if I hear one more rant about art being eternal, I may just ask Deidara to blow me out of my misery!"

She laughed again, enjoying his good humor. Even so, it felt so strange. "I just... can't get used to the idea of being stuck here, maybe forever. At first I thought I was going to be tortured or used as some kind of bait, but you guys wanted me to join. Then I thought that Akatsuki did nothing but torment people needlessly, and he..." She cast her eyes down, not even wanting to think his name. "He said that Akatsuki's goal is to end war. How can something that causes so much harm end war?"

He leaned forward, nodding. "I know what you're getting at, I've asked myself those same questions when I was your age. You don't remember it, I'm sure, but the land of Mist hasn't been a peaceful place. It used to be called-"

"-the land of the Bloody Mist. Yeah." When she saw his eyes widen slightly, she explained. "I heard that from my mentor, somewhat recently. He said that long ago, there was an incident at the Mist academy and every student was killed. That ended the practice of students fighting to the death, though I suppose some of their more gruesome practices still remain. It was just like what Zabuza had said, back when my team fought him."

His eyebrows raised with surprise. "So you know him? Yeah, heard he was killed by Konoha shinobi, but I never thought much of it. Wasn't exactly attached to the guy, after all. Not any of them, really, especially not that weirdo Raiga. Do you know what happened though? About why the swordsmen group was formed, and what happened to make them disperse?"

She nodded. "Some kind of coup d'etat, right? I don't know exactly what it was."

"Well, I'll tell you, since I know you won't be going anywhere soon. You see, the leader, the Mizukage, was the one making all those horrible rules. It was common practice in the Mist to exercise more than just the standard emotional training. No, they wouldn't just take away your emotions, they would take away your rational thought, your sense of self, everything until you would gladly die for the sake of the mission, doing anything at any cost. The seven shinobi swordsmen of the mist were their elite soldiers, until we saw it fit to execute the real plan- the overthrowing of the Mizukage. In our own way, we were trying to rid the Mist of the underhanded practices, allowing future shinobi the chance to have a mind of their own, ending the internal war within the Mist."

Her eyes widened slightly. "Just like the training that ANBU members go through..."

"Worse, actually. Much worse than that. So you see? Things can seem a little different if you choose to look at it from another angle. You just gotta remember that everything has more than one side to it, and lots of different... Hell, I don't know. Here." He took off the small opal earring that he always wore, handing it to her to look at. "Look at it in the light. What color is it?"

She turned it one way, and subtle blue waves glimmered, but when she angled it again, pink waves, then green, shimmered through the opal. "It's many colors, but only if you turn it around a little." She handed the gem back, pondering the comparison thoughtfully.

"Exactly. It's just like Akatsuki and this whole mess with the world. Nothing's really black or white but lots of shades of many different colors. The only thing wrong with it all is the competition amongst them, when it would be much more interesting to see all the colors together, you know?"

She nodded slowly, thinking it over. "Yeah, I think I know what you mean."

"That's not all Akatsuki hopes to accomplish, either." He grinned, seeming to be extremely excited about the next part. "I don't know if you noticed, but everyone here has a bloodline limit or some other unusual kind of talent that got them in trouble in the past. Like me." He pointed to himself emphatically. "Hell, I have a shark demon in me. Deidara's got those hand mouth things, and Kami knows what else, Sasori had those human puppets, and Zetsu... I don't think I even wanna know what the heck he's half of. But that's the other thing we're going for is to see that talents, even weird ones, don't get looked down on." He pointed to her next. "You've got that freaky strength of yours, you can't say that exactly makes you popular, eh?"

She looked down, reminded of her unusual tomboy nature. "No, not really."

"Damn, you even have pink hair! What kind of ninja has pink hair anyway?" He grinned and she laughed a little. "But Hell, look at me, I'm blue for Kami's sake! But here, I'm not some kind of freaky fish guy for everyone to run away from. It's hard having a bloodline limit, you know." He looked down this time, somewhat reflective.

She nodded slowly, also reminded of times past. "It's also hard... being a jinchuuriki."

He sighed heavily, nodding. "I'm sure it is, but I hate to say that their sacrifice is necessary. For a better world, we need the strength of their bijuu, along with everything else we've gathered."

Her eyebrow rose slightly. "...everything else?"

He winked slyly, wagging his finger at her. "Company secrets, little kunoichi. I gotta tell you, though, you really need to think hard about joining up with us. I'm not gonna lie, it's hard work, but the payoff is decent, even if you're in it only for the money. But you know, the harder you fight back, the worse it's gonna get for you, especially as determined as Itachi is getting to be. The longer you hold out, the more desperate he's gonna get, and I can guarantee that next time he'll get far more severe than just a kiss." He stood abruptly, leaving her alone to think in the lounge. She had to do the rest of this on her own, without his help and, Kami help him, without Itachi's help. For her own good, he would hold off Itachi's advances, distracting him until the girl could make a rational decision. She needed to see things the way they were, and figure it out for herself. It was the only way.

* * *

A/N: Longest... effing... chapter... ever...


	7. Under the Sun

A/N: Ok, so... chapter 7 I guess.

* * *

Part 7 - "Under the Sun"

* * *

Itachi found himself in the secluded library on the far wing of the building, Kisame haunting his chair as per usual. The crimson eyed nin didn't utter a single word, only taking the other well used chair and staring into the burning fireplace. Yellow and orange flames flickered across the always active Sharingan, his fingers quickly pinching his brow with frustration. Sensing his predicament, Kisame added his two cents - as worthless as it might be.

"You should back off, Itachi-san."

The Uchiha turned to glare at his partner coldly. "And what exactly do you mean by that?"

The mist nin completely ignored the death glare, flipping a page in a book about a peculiar white whale idly. "I think you know what I mean."

"Stop being so ambiguous."

Kisame grinned wide, not taking his eyes off his book. "And here I thought I could be vague all the time with you being such a genius." When Itachi sent another death glare, the shark sighed and put his book aside reluctantly. "The girl, Itachi. Don't be too pushy with her."

Itachi paused, then glared again. "It was your idea."

"Hey, hey, it wasn't my idea to practically attack her in the hallway and kiss her like a madman. I only suggested getting closer."

"Hn... you should be more specific next time."

"Good grief..." The mist nin pinched his own forehead, wincing visibly. "Fine, let me be more _specific_ this time. Stay away for a while, and once the situation cools down, just act like you do with me."

Itachi glared a little less harshly. "Acting the way I do around you isn't conducive to seduction."

"No no no. You came off too strong on the kid, you need to get it back to step one. Just back off and act friendly until she opens up again."

The Uchiha paused a long time before responding again. "How the hell do you know so much?"

Kisame chuckled and leaned back in his chair, gesturing to himself pointedly. "A guy like me can't pick up chicks just through good looks, you know."

Itachi only scoffed, though his mood lightened considerably. "Oh really? And when was the last time you picked one up?" A long silence confirmed his suspicion. "Your point is invalid."

"Not entirely. If you combine good looks with proper behavior, it's a good combination."

"Is that why you're so polite?"

"I'm not an idiot, Itachi-san. I know that it takes more than good looks and strong techniques to make it in life. I've had that proven to me more than once in my life."

Itachi considered his partner's words carefully, mulling them over in his mind. True, the older nin had years more of experience and probably had a lot to contribute if only the Uchiha showed interest. He himself had found that same theory proven, his own experiences with people judging the outside of his character before considering the inside. Underneath the underneath... Perhaps there was more even to that saying than met the eye... "Perhaps I have acted rashly. However, it is the goal of a ninja to adapt to any given situation, and so I shall."

Kisame leaned forward, his gaze hard and serious. "Then listen to me, and listen carefully. What I've learned is that females are even harder to figure out than you are. What you have to do, though, is back off for a while. Once the situation cools down you can start re-entering the situation, but you have to be patient. Let her talk to the other members, let her see how things really are here. Chances are good that once she learns what's really going on here... she might change her mind."

"I already told her the truth."

The shark's eyes widened suddenly. "Was that wise?"

Kisame was the only person that Itachi would allow to openly criticize him, albeit in private. Despite the cold glares he threw out so freely, he truly appreciated his partner's input. "It was perhaps ill-timed, but it still happened. She does believe what I told her of Madara, the only thing left is to make her see our own personal objectives... the ones that act against Madara. It will be difficult to execute..."

"We still have to wait. She has to see this on her own."

"...perhaps you are right."

* * *

She stared at Zetsu. Zetsu stared back. Her eyes went to his plate. His eyes followed the glance. Honestly, she didn't want to know what - or who - he was eating. Her medical lessons alone made it quite plain exactly what he was eating. It had been mere chance that she stepped into the kitchen when he was eating. In the middle of the day, nowhere near meal time, she expected nobody to be here. Apparently, so had he. He slowly took a bite, seeing just what her reaction might be but to her merit, she didn't budge or even flinch, watching with morbid curiosity.

He couldn't help but poke fun at her discomfort. "Would you like some, Sakura-san? **Yes, it's delicious, tastes like rock nin...**"

Though she wanted nothing more than to run from the situation or at least be disgusted, she didn't want to be known for being weak. Instead, she shook her head and responded politely. "No thank you, I only came for some water."

When she turned her back and headed for the sink, he grimaced to himself. Well that was no fun. Although, it was interesting to have someone at least act politely. Only Kisame had been able to keep a straight face around the grass nin at meal times, the shark probably not one to look down on a fellow misunderstood nin. Just before she started to leave, he startled her by speaking again. "Sakura-san... thank you."

She turned back to face him, surprised. "For what?"

He paused before speaking again. "For... not being disgusted."

Her eyes widened and she found herself frozen in the doorway. "You're welcome." She paused before exiting, wondering at the odd conversation. Honestly, she really had expected that to be the last of the conversation, but his subtle admission had been a surprise. Why was he so glad that she wasn't disgusted by his cannibalistic habits? Maybe he had once been human, overtaken by a grass demon? It would be a similar situation to Kisame, maybe. If that was so, he had probably gotten more than just a few stares from strangers, even in Akatsuki. Very strange indeed...

She turned the corner abruptly and landed right into someone's chest, a someone much taller than herself. Her hand instantly went to her injured nose, wincing before risking a gaze upward. She soon regretted doing that, her eyes instantly meeting with cold gray rings. "Kunoichi," he greeted coldly, his eyes narrowing. He hadn't exactly forgiven her yet for her interruption of his light reading, but Itachi hadn't exactly helped the matter. Perhaps he could at least be neutral.

She recovered quickly and to her merit, she barely even flinched in his overbearing presence. Her eyes never left the icy glare she traded with his peculiar eyes, staying stiff even in the face of such a danger. "Sir," she greeted just as coldly. Hell, she didn't even know his name.

He seemed to be thinking about something, considering every possible aspect of what he was going to say before answering impassively. "Come with me for a moment." His shoulder barely seemed to turn with his body as he passed down the hallway, his eyes darting back to see if she followed. Hesitantly, she followed along, not really wanting to know what this was about but not exactly wanting to die either. After a moment he paused at the main exit and she hesitated again, knowing well by now that she couldn't go anywhere near the threshold. When he opened the door and beckoned for her to follow, she reasoned that nobody would care. Not like she could escape under the watchful eye of the acting leader.

The path he led her on went through bustling streets, all present people gawking as their supposed god walked the streets. Who was the strange girl with her? Nobody knew, but she must be important if their great leader was with her. He paced to what was probably the tallest tower in the city, looming over the technologically advanced citadel. This was another section of the hideout, one he rarely came to in the accompaniment of someone other than Konan or Madara, but this crucial journey would prove something very plain to the blinded girl.

Atop the great tower, the people below looked like insects, all milling about their duties as the two silently looked down. As she watched, wondering why she was brought here, he gestured out at the city imperiously. "Look down at the city. Tell me what you see."

She leaned on the edge of the outlook, the platform extending into almost a weird mouth shape. Below, despite the rain, people still went about their business, ignoring the constant wetness. After a while she figured she didn't see much and responded plainly. :I see a technologically advanced city going about their duties despite the constant downpour."

He nodded, though that wasn't what he had been wondering. She was smart enough, she'd get it eventually. "True, but what do you see when you look underneath that?"

This time she sat down, taking longer to look out. The chilly gray and yellow sky seemed to cling to the horizon, never fading. "It's depressing," she began, though after a moment she continued. "But even as depressing as the weather is, everyone down there looks almost too happy. It's so strange... it's just like Konoha, only with... more rain."

"Better. However... what do you see when you look underneath the underneath?"

She turned to look up at him, once more thinking on the same phrase that had been plaguing her for days now. Underneath the underneath... Her eyes turned again to the streets, gazing as she responded. "For years this country has been subjected to violent war and strife, famine and pain. Something changed since those days, though... Deidara said that you took over this country by yourself. Perhaps... whoever had been in charge before motivated you to do such a thing. It's possible that you saw their influence as a threat to the way you perceived life should be and you acted accordingly. When I look out there, I see..." She paused, a stranger in the crowd catching her eye. Something about him just dug at her woman's intuition and she kept her eyes locked, just as the slightest glint from under a hood caught her eye. That eye... just one... "...Madara?" She said it under her breath but Pein suddenly grabbed her shoulder, turning her to face him.

"What do you know about Madara?"

"Quiet!" Before she realized that she was almost insulting someone very threatening, she shook herself from his grip enough to point into the crowd. "Look, down there! I saw a red glint... just one."

He abandoned his question in favor of curiosity, looking down to the man in question. Keeping himself hidden in the shadows, he soon saw that yes, the stranger had an odd glint in his eye and had been keeping such a tight control on his chakra, even the Rin'negan had trouble seeing it. "Odd... I wonder why he is out there..."

She bit her lip, wondering the same. "If you didn't know about it... then I would say he is up to something suspicious. I can barely sense his chakra." Her hands formed a few seals quickly, hands glowing before she picked up a small rock. As soon as Madara turned his head, she threw the rock just so, the tiny thing landing just where he was about to step. When he stepped on top of the rock, her unseen chakra was just strong enough to attach it to his foot, though he would never sense it. She had used this little trick a few times during practice, but it was thrilling to try it for real.

Pein watched her trick carefully, slightly impressed that such a thing could go unnoticed by even one of the best shinobi. "An interesting little jutsu you have there."

She nodded, keeping her hands locked in the hand seal of the dog. "I've only tried it on wild animals before, but I couldn't let him get away. I can track him as long as I have enough chakra, but... I don't know, something odd has happened to my chakra circulation and I can't focus it as well."

"Yes, that was my doing. I used it so you wouldn't escape, but... even if you somehow regained your strength, there is little you could do against me. I will give you your concentration back if you will track Madara." He didn't hesitate in forming a hand seal to release his jutsu, knowing that it would be to both of their benefits if it turned out that Madara was indeed up to no good. The man didn't need to hide and sulk about in this city, everyone knew to respect those with clouded cloaks. As her chakra returned, her jutsu continued, tracking the man beyond what they could see. Before long, he was beyond her jutsu and she slammed her fist into the wall furiously, cracking the structure severely.

"Damn! Lost him..."

Pein only looked out at the horizon impassively. "Your technique has a long range but not quite long enough." He glanced to the rear of the cavern abruptly. "Konan..."

The blue haired woman seemed to manifest from nowhere, taking after her partner perfectly. She approached silently, only nodding a greeting. "Pein."

He nodded back at her. "Go track Madara... If he so much as scratches his nose, I wish to be made aware of it."

Her mouth contorted in a small smile, her cold eyes looking up languidly. "Paranoid as always, though not foolishly so. If that is what you wish, then it shall be done." She knew he couldn't risk ceasing the rain, that alone would make Madara suspicious. Instead, when her hands went into a seal, the paper butterflies that resulted were smaller and swifter, dodging each raindrop as it fell. One by one, the tiny creatures disappeared into the sky, Sakura watching curiously.

"It's... paper."

Pein followed her gaze out at the disappearing origami, nodding in response. "Yes. That is her special technique. All of us have our own special tactics and abilities, making us a highly versatile organization. Tell me..." He nodded out at the expanse below them. "What do you see now?"

She bit her lip nervously, keeping her gaze at the village. "I see the result of hard work."

* * *

Itachi was about to head to her temporary room but Kisame's hand clamping on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks. "Itachi-san, not yet."

The Uchiha glared back. "I don't exactly have much time left..."

Kisame sighed, scratching his head with frustration. "No, I suppose not. I wonder if she could heal that too."

"Kisame... I'm already on borrowed time."

The shark only shrugged. "At least humor me. I can go talk to her."

Itachi paused a long time, thinking it over carefully. "I suppose there is no risk in an examination."

Kisame only smirked lightly. "Then I'll find you." He waited until the dark haired man disappeared in a puff of smoke, turning to the doorway. His chakra flared when he knocked, and he waited until she answered. As soon as the door entered, he put on his biggest grin and tilted his head to the side. "So where have you been all day, kid?"

She didn't even know she had been missed, thought it seemed that Kisame kept on top of events better than most. "Oh... I was allowed to go up into the city today."

His grin disappeared into a look of slight surprise. "Oh? That's odd... I'm sure he had his reasons. Well, enough crap... I actually need a little favor."

Her hands went to her hips, her own devious glance tossed back at him. "So you DO want something! I thought it was odd for you to just visit. So... what is it?"

He hesitated, a hand messed up in his hair as he glanced aside nervously. "Well... it's not really for me, not exactly. It's for Itachi-san, but... you know. Don't want him screwing up his missions and all."

Although she grimaced briefly, she soon sighed and relented. "I suppose... if you come with me. What's wrong with him?"

"He just seems a bit under the weather, and really moody. Well... moodier than usual, anyway." With a smirk, he also added, "I'll be sure to come along, I want to know what it is."

"Not much I can do... if he needs it that bad I would be forced into it anyway. Might as well just do it and save the trouble." She followed Kisame down the long hallway, taking the turns she knew so well into the medical building. Ever since her arrival, more and more tools of the trade had found their way in here and for that she was grateful. At least they provided enough to do the job right. Itachi stood in the corner coldly, still glaring at her with an unreadable gaze. After a long moment of hesitation, she crossed her arms and pursed her lips. "I've heard you've been feeling sick? Where does it hurt the most? How long has it been going on?"

He maintained his distance, answering simply. "It hurts everywhere. I've had it... longer than I can remember. It affects my breathing the most."

She reluctantly closed the distance, hands glowing green as she reached for his chest. "Hold still, I'll check the lungs first." Her hands hovered a chaste several inches from him, though she could still examine him properly. As she examined inch by inch, the look on her face grew more and more severe. At long last, she withdrew her hands, her silence covering the room.

Itachi surprisingly broke the silence. "It's unfavorable."

She nodded. "Yes... even I can't cure this. It's a wasting sickness, something that can last weeks or years, I can't even give you a time frame. All I can tell you is that you don't have long left."

"Just as I thought..."

Her next words surprised both of them. "Don't die, not yet. Live long enough for him."

The faintest smile seemed to grace his lips. "No, not yet. I still have much to do."

* * *

A/N: Done for now... FINALLY got ideas for this.


	8. Thorns

Chapter 8 - Thorns

Sakura was in the kitchen alone when she heard low voices from the hall. Who could it be? Everyone else had been away except for the leader, Itachi and Kisame, or so she thought. Without considering the circumstances, she sent chakra to her ears to listen in on the exchange.

"Did you find him?" A male voice, low and monotonous. It sounded like the leader.

"I did, but... you will not be pleased with what I found out." Female. Definitely Konan.

"Tell me anyway. You know we can't waste any time if he..."

"I know. I traced him to an underground tunnel. After that I could no longer follow, his protections were too great. I'm still attempting to breech them. Even so, this knowledge should prove disconcerting..."

"Indeed it is. Well done, Konan."

A soft sigh could barely be heard. "What will we do?"

A long pause. "Unfortunately we cannot deal with him without the others knowing."

"Perhaps Itachi..."

"No, he is already on thin ice with Madara. None of the others will question us if we are away for a time, as long as we keep in touch through the shadow specter jutsu."

"What about the girl?"

"She knows. I will speak to her." He paused again, a slight ruffle of fabric penetrating the otherwise absolute silence. "Please be careful around him."

"I know. I will." Another small pause followed by her light footsteps indicated that she was leaving, and another sound of Pein's heavier footsteps heading in another direction made Sakura jump away from the door, settling back in a chair and flipping the pages of a nearby abandoned novel randomly. She certainly didn't want him to know she had been eavesdropping, even if he was going to tell her pretty much the same thing she just heard.

He entered the room silently, pausing behind her chair when he spoke. "So, young kunoichi... Are you prepared to give your explanation?"

She offered a wry smile as she glanced up at him, knowing what he meant. "One might be prepared, but that doesn't mean that one is actually ready."

His eyebrow quirked slightly as his eyes darted around the room. "Not here. Follow me." He knew he didn't need any further explanation and for once he was glad to have another halfway intelligent person in the building. Someone like Deidara or Hidan would have looked at him strangely and said all sorts of incriminating things... Fortunately those two hadn't found out about Madara. He led the way to his office, which he had gone to the trouble of lacing all sorts of protective jutsu himself. If this wasn't safe, then no place on this planet was. She took her chair cautiously, watching as he did the same, staring across at her from behind clasped hands. "It was Itachi, right? He seems to be the only logical person that could have told you."

She nodded, glancing down apprehensively. "He did. So everything he told me..."

"It was all true," he stated bluntly. "I don't know how much he told you, which is why I wanted to ask you here... I need to know what you know, just in case..." He paused, his eyes glimmering reflectively. "Just in case I need to trust you with a few things."

Her own eyes flickered up with a touch of boldness. "I would need to know a few things myself... to be sure that the trust can be carried both ways."

His mouth quirked slightly, almost a smirk but not quite. "Very well. As a token of my good will, I will allow you three questions of your choosing."

"I am aware that you are collecting bijuu, the demons sealed within hosts called jinchuuriki. What do you plan to do with them?"

His head tilted slightly, not surprised that this was the first question she asked. "Mind you, not all of the members know the full extent of this plan, but you know as well as I do that keeping discreet would be to the best of both our advantages. Once the bijuu have been collected, I plan to use them as a threat to other countries. By using this threat, we will force the other countries into an eternal stand-down, creating the first peace known to these nations in thousands of years."

She stared for a long moment. Only three questions... she would have to be careful how she worded her responses, not making them questions. "Then you plan to create a peaceful world." Her brows furrowed, contemplating the thought intently. Why? Why did someone like him want peace of all things? How did he plan on getting it through sheer intimidation? No, better to ask a more fruitful question. "Where does Madara fit into all of this?"

He shook his head immediately. "I'll tell you once you told me what you know about him, but I will tell you this much. Itachi is the only thing standing between him and your friend the nine-tails."

Her eyes widened. However, she stilled herself; she couldn't afford to be too hasty and ask a stupid question. Once more, she willed her mind to focus, clearing any thoughts of emotional ties to her friends. "So... how does Itachi fit into this?"

His eyes darkened, the low lighting in the room accentuating it. "Akatsuki isn't as black and white as you may think. Even our own members are divided, more on how much they know and how much I choose to tell them. All of this is on a need-to-know basis. Itachi, Konan and I know everything. Kisame almost does. However, most of the rest of the members either don't know or don't care to know, causing a small rift of communication amongst us."

She took the hint and began telling her story, from the first hints that Itachi dropped about Akatsuki leading up to the full explanation about Madara and Konoha. "He said he killed his clan in order to save Konoha... At first I thought he was simply a convincing liar but now..."

He nodded slowly, gesturing to his clouded cloak. "You see these clouds? Our cloaks are like our world. Nothing in this world is simply black and white, but there are so many other shades of what we know. Such as the color red. As for the clouds... naturally you know that Akatsuki means red dawn, but there's more to these clouds than that. We can see the truth if only we look beyond what clouds our judgment."

"So you're saying to look at things objectively, not emotionally."

"Not exactly. You must balance the good of both objective and emotional reasoning, keeping perfect control of yourself in analyzing the situation. This is precisely why I can't just tell the entire organization. Some of them would take my explanation the wrong way and do something... detrimental."

She considered that well before responding. "Despite how I felt in the past about this organization, I can at least accept the logic of what you're saying. I've told you all I know, so... Tell me more about Madara and Itachi."

"Right. About ten years ago, Akatsuki-" He was cut off by Konan suddenly rushing into the room, out of breath and eyes wide. The door had been sealed, but of course he trusted his partner with far more than his life, and she was the only one he allowed inside without permission. Startled, both occupants stood abruptly and Pein strode over to meet her. "Konan? Was it him again?"

Her eyes were still quite wide, fear evident in her glazed expression and her wavering voice. "One of my insects managed to track him down further. It's bad. He's going to kill us all..."

His own eyes widened, an unusual expression on his impassive face. "Calm down."

She took a moment to breathe, body still shaking slightly though she managed to get her thoughts in order. "He doesn't want to use the bijuu as a mere threat. He intends to harness their power and destroy the world."

"How? We don't have the ability to re-seal the bijuu... How can he do that?"

She shook her head swiftly. "I don't know. I couldn't find out any details. I had to extract my insect before he could sense it, so I only learned a little. All I know is that... even if he can't collect all of them, he can still use their power against us. If he does that, we stand little chance. We... we could die." She glanced up at him, her usually strong personality breaking under the pressure. He didn't care that someone else was in the room, he didn't care about being strong, he wanted to protect his partner. Without another thought, he let her fall into his arms, clutching at his cloak, clinging to sanity.

He glanced back at Sakura, nodding. "Go tell Itachi. Now." She obeyed without question, dashing out of the room hastily. As soon as she was gone, he held Konan tighter, resting her head on his shoulder. "There's no need to be strong, Konan." His words seemed to sink in and she clenched her fists tighter, letting the silent tears finally fall.

* * *

She hesitated. She really didn't want to go in there. She didn't want to be alone with him. Her hand went to knock on the door, pausing just before. She hesitated again. From behind her, a different voice suddenly burst out.

"Hey, kid. You need something?" Kisame grinned when she turned around looking startled, but his grin faded when he saw the subtle fear in her eyes. "Yo, what's wrong?"

She watched him for a moment, her hand going for the doorknob. "Can't talk about it here." Not bothering to knock, she let both of them into the room, somehow knowing that Itachi could sense their presences outside the door. When they entered, Itachi was sitting on the edge of a chair expectantly, gesturing for them to sit at the small table with him.

His eyes shifted to each of them warily. "I sensed fluctuating chakra in the base. What's going on?"

Kisame seated himself to Itachi's left, watching as Sakura took the seat across. Sakura debated just how she would approach the subject, seeing as how their relationships to each other were about to become more skewed than ever before. "It's Madara. Not only is he intent on destroying Konoha, but the entire world itself. Konan sent one of her paper insects to spy on him and found this much out before she had to retreat. He has no intention of living up to whatever lofty ideals Akatsuki has before. All he wants is our deaths, whether they be Akatsuki, civilian, whoever."

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "Damn him... I had a feeling he wouldn't stop with Konoha."

She nodded. "But why wouldn't he have attacked before?"

His eyes closed thoughtfully. "That was my doing. I gave him an ultimatum. As long as I did not reveal his identity to the world, he would not harm Konoha. The few others that know made their own deal with him, whatever it may have been."

Kisame's brows furrowed with disappointment. "That guy promised me to take out the leader of the mist and place someone who wouldn't turn all the shinobi into damned emotionless beings... I really thought he wanted to help make this world better..."

Itachi sighed. "You and the rest of Akatsuki. We all wanted something more. Now, however... we must accept that he no longer wishes to help us. This is a desperate situation. We can't just go around telling everyone about him. If he finds out, he will surely destroy Konoha. However, if we do nothing, then he will destroy us even if he can't get the last bijuu. The question now is who to tell. Who can we trust to keep their mouths shut?"

Sakura thought about this as well. "We can't tell Hidan. His deity favors utter destruction, and the bastard might just join forces with Madara. Kakuzu, however, would be a good choice. He clings to life enough to where he could be convinced to go along with it. Deidara... he may be unstable, and he may hate you, Itachi..." She noticed a slight nod from the Uchiha. "But even more than that, he hates being deceived. Along with that, he hates Madara's other personality, Tobi. He would be another good choice, as long as we make sure he keeps all of his mouths shut."

A short knock at the door sounded, and the subtle flare of chakra identified the person as Pein. Without waiting for a response, he entered, making another hand seal to ward away anyone else. Despite the paranoid way that Itachi had laced wards around himself, it was better to be safe. Behind him, Konan entered as well, both of them taking the remaining seats. After a moment Pein spoke. "I trust that Sakura filled you in on the current situation." When both nodded, he continued. "I have considered the situation carefully... and I am about to suggest something very dangerous for us all." He glanced up at Sakura warily. "Especially for you. It's extremely risky, but it is the only way we can succeed against Madara. None of us want this world to truly end. For the moment I suggest we all work together, against Madara and even get the assistance of some of the more easily convinced nations. What I want to suggest..." Again he glanced at Sakura. "I wish for you to join Akatsuki. Not under the pretenses that we would have formerly had you, but something else entirely. You would join us to save the world. I want you to act as Itachi has, a double agent for Konoha and our side of Akatsuki. It wouldn't be difficult to sneak you out of here and into Konoha, especially with my help. Kisame." He now turned to the shark, nodding briefly. "I know what Madara promised you. He will not live up to his word. I, however, have not lied to any of you. I may have evaded an answer, but I tell you the truth now. I do wish for true peace. It may be that we will have to end up destroying the bijuu under Madara's control or even our own, but it will take away a vital weapon. After that... we will have to rethink our strategy."

Sakura tapped the table thoughtfully. "If you really want to save this world from Madara... I would be able to relay your messages. I can easily get the Hokage to listen to me, but the problem is Konoha's politics. She may be able to do a few small things in our aid, but if she does too much it will look suspicious."

"Perhaps, then, we should actually start leaking information. Perhaps not to Konoha, unless you know a few people that would keep the secret."

Itachi spoke up. "There are a few in Konoha that would know what to do about this, and I am still in communication with them. Also..." He hesitated, not sure if he should bring this up. "I have visited the nine-tails boy, though at this point he may think it had only been a dream. He might join our cause if we promise not to tamper with the Kyuubi. At this point, the nine-tails would be useless anyway, and we would risk little in gaining his trust."

Sakura frowned. "The problem with him is he has the biggest mouth in Konoha. He would never be able to keep a secret."

"It would be worth the risk. He does hold the Kyuubi, and quite well, I might add. However, once I am dead, everything will begin falling apart. We would lose our leverage against him and he would be free to attack Konoha."

Her brows met with frustration. "Once you're dead? You're really going to give up just like that?"

"You know as well as I do that my time is short. If my brother knew the truth... he would not have the will to kill me, leaving me to rot away as the disease spreads. I want to die honorably... to die in battle, for him to believe that he is ridding this world of a menace." He paused, making sure that none of them would try to convince him otherwise. "Now... what we must do is get as many allies as we can. Mist and Stone won't join right away, they are far too set in their ways. We need to focus on Cloud and Fire, even though they are bitter enemies. If they are informed of Madara's intentions, they will join at least to save their own shinobi. Fire will ironically be the easiest to convince, being so morally based."

Pein nodded. "Yes. No matter what is done, we need you to join Akatsuki, Sakura. The fate of the world depends on it."

She glanced up, looking at each in turn, noticing their intent expressions. To save the world... to save her friends... Even if Akatsuki and Konoha differed in opinion, neither wanted the world to fade away. "For the sake of the world... I will join you."


	9. Not to Wither or Fade

A/N: Reminder: This story contains violence, blood, coarse language, suggestive dialog, sexual themes and is just plain damn confusing. Enjoy.

Chapter 9 - "Not to wither or fade"

Pein didn't hesitate in the least as he handed the black cloak with red clouds to Sakura. She had agreed to be initiated just like all the other members had, in the main meeting room in front of everyone. The ceremony was just a front, of course. Her real purpose for joining was easily covered up by her acting skills, her initiation speech explaining that she had had enough of getting less than satisfactory treatment in Konoha, and that during her time with Akatsuki, she had come to sympathize with their goals. Not all a lie, certainly. In this time, after realizing the real goal, she really did sympathize with them. Just not in the way everyone thought...

She was kneeling before him, accepting her placement under his command- though not really- and awaiting her first orders. He nodded stiffly. "Good. Now rise, and welcome into Akatsuki. Your first order of business is to recover the missing ring, formerly possessed by Orochimaru. We have word of his demise, and hope that you can recover the ring with haste."

Her heart beat faster, but she showed no other sign of shock. Wait, Orochimaru was dead? When had this happened? No, better not hesitate. She only bowed slightly in acceptance. "Very well. It will be done as you wish."

"Then the rest of you are dismissed. Come with me, Sakura, and we shall discuss the finer points of your mission." He nodded once to Konan, indicating her involvement in this as well, but the rest went their separate ways. Sakura rose, following the two into the secure office, too many questions flooding her mind. Despite this, she was patient, waiting until she seated herself across from his desk, the other two glancing down at her warily. Konan finally spoke, her low voice filling the silence.

"She didn't hear about Orochimaru."

Pein tapped a finger on his desk absently, nodding. "No, I suppose she wouldn't have. Things around here have been a bit too complicated. Sakura, we're not sure how it happened, but it appears that Sasuke has killed Orochimaru, but also somehow absorbed some of his abilities. It may be due to the Sharingan's powers, but whatever the case, he is more powerful than ever. We have reason to believe that his comrade Kabuto more or less defected, leaving without a trace. This leaves the base unguarded and you would have no trouble retrieving the ring. However... that is not the only reason we need you there."

She nodded at this. "No. You want me to find out more about Sasuke, and what he has been doing."

His mouth twitched slightly. "Perceptive as always. Yes. As you can imagine, since Itachi is key to our plans, and Sasuke is perpetually on his mind, any information would be useful. However, you must find a way to go in secretly. We can't have the outside world openly knowing that you joined Akatsuki, that would complicate things. Chances are that the others that saw you join won't care what you do and won't tell anyone about you. What each member does is their own business, but if anyone gets curious we can pass you off as Akatsuki's spy on Konoha. You'll need to take Itachi with you."

Her brows raised slightly. "Just him? What about Kisame?"

He shook his head. "There's a reason that Akatsuki moves in two-man squads. It is for our safety. Also, I am sending Kisame on a very vital mission into the cloud country. He can handle it alone, and I want both of you to investigate the scene. You are both highly intelligent, but as they say, two sets of eyes are better than one. You will go without your cloak, and if you are caught by hunters or anyone else, you will be passed off as his hostage. This ensures your safety. If you went alone..."

She pursed her lips, but understood. "Right. Alone, I'd be dead. Alright. I'll go there with him, and I'll let you know what I find."

"Excellent. You have two weeks to complete your mission, but I stress that you try and make it before then."

She smiled wryly before rising. "You didn't have to stress that." With a respectful nod, she headed into the hallway, pinching her nose with frustration. Alone on a mission. With Itachi. Damn. This was going to be... interesting.

* * *

Never before had she experienced such a long, oppressive silence. As soon as she relayed the mission to Itachi, they had sped off immediately, neither saying another word. Even once they made camp halfway there, nothing was said. She couldn't take it anymore. Staring at the blazing campfire was starting to get to her.

"Do you suppose Konoha is looking for me?"

He pondered this for a moment, poking the fire with a long stick. "They did, for a while. However, we were able to cover your trail quite well, and eventually faked your death. Once we realized that you wanted to go through with our plans, we staged a battle. Leader used a special jutsu to make a replica of you, and it has been believed that you are dead."

"What about if I need to go inform the Hokage about the plan?"

"That will be done in secret, of course. I know you are highly skilled in genjutsu, and I can teach you a few things as well. It wouldn't be difficult to slip past the gates."

"No, it wouldn't be." She paused only slightly. "What about your contacts in Konoha?"

He shook his head. "Not much use anymore. In Konoha, I am still very much a criminal, and few there would listen to me. You, however, are inside the inside... it's an enormous risk for everyone involved, but if this works..."

Her brows furrowed slightly, lost in thought. "I never knew you cared about Konoha so much."

"Of course not. Never reveal your secret to the enemy, lest they exploit it. That's the law of genjutsu, after all... only let others see what you want them to see."

Her eyes darted up, her next question bold but necessary. "You spent a long time covering everything up... is there even a real you left behind all that?"

"I suppose at one time there was."

"It's still there, you know. As calm as you appear to be, when your eyes narrow, it shows the inner turmoil. When your eyes dart to one side, you are remembering the past and formulating an answer. You think hard about your responses, and that shows that you are still rational. When you lost control and you..." She didn't really want to relate his attack in the hallway, but this was a step towards resolving this issue. "Well, you remember what happened. It didn't turn out the way you thought. It felt different, and that shows you still have some humanity."

"No. We can't all get rid of it."

She watched the fire burn steadily, short flames dancing up into the tall canopy. Something about peaceful scenery made her mouth want to run with whatever she thought about. "What if Sasuke doesn't kill you?"

His eyes closed solemnly. "He will. He must. For the sake of us all, he must kill me."

Her mouth pursed and she stared down at the ground. "Why? I know you don't want to die from disease, but why does it have to end like that?"

His hands clasped calmly, preparing to answer this just so. "I only have a short time left on this earth whether he kills me or not. I am no match for Madara as I am, but if he kills me, he may gain that chance. In order to succeed, he must gain the Mangekyo Sharingan, it is his only chance against Madara. To do this, he must kill the person closest to him."

"He already tried that, though. He couldn't bear to kill Naruto."

"That is because that was a misinterpretation of the rules of the Mangekyo. You don't have to kill your best friend, you can also kill a relative, as long as they are the closest person to you. Think about it... all this time, it wasn't Naruto that was the closest to him. What has been his one ambition? His one goal?"

Her eyes widened as she glanced up at him. "Of course... That was the other reason you lured him on like that, made yourself his obsession. First, you didn't want him to kill Naruto. Not only would that get rid of the Kyuubi and jeopardize Akatsuki's plans but it would get rid of a potential leader for Konoha."

"Right."

"By making his goal plain, by making it so one-sided, you pretty much guaranteed the path he would follow. But... are you sure he will go after Madara now? How can you know?"

With a light sigh, he leaned back against a tree. "I have no guarantee, but there are few other options now. Whether he goes after Madara or not, this is my only option."

"I suppose you're right. Even if you told Sasuke about Madara, he wouldn't believe you. He probably wouldn't believe me either. All he has now is this goal to kill you." She sighed lightly, looking up into the starry sky above. "This is a complex, difficult situation."

His head lowered and for the slightest second, she could have sworn she saw him smile. Not one of his usual haughty smiles, but a genuine one. "That is why we were chosen for this mission. Something like this takes the most intelligent minds. Leader wouldn't have entrusted this to anyone less. He values your ability to rationalize the situation, even if there are emotions tied in."

"Yes... I've changed. It only seems like yesterday that I was so jaded, so deluded by everything I thought I knew." She finally risked looking at him, emerald meeting dark ebony eyes. Why was it that he always felt comfortable enough to drop the Sharingan around her? "I can't pretend not to know anymore. I know that there's no going back from here, but I suppose... I'm glad I know. Being deluded only leads you down a poorly chosen path. I guess I just can't understand how I could have changed so much."

He thought out his answers just as she did, being soft spoken but intelligent. It was a difficult response, but a true one. "It is as I have said to Kisame. With each passing day, the world as we knew it the day before is dead. Each rising of the sun brings a new world, a new challenge and completely different circumstances. There is never any going back, only forward into the unknown."

"That's an interesting philosophy." Her eyes flicked to the fire, then back to his. He was still watching her. Why? Didn't he already get what he wanted? She joined Akatsuki, of her free will no less. Maybe he still felt a little remiss about what he did to try and convince her before. No matter what it was, the long silence with no resolve was getting on her nerves. Before she could speak, however, he spoke first.

"Do you regret this?"

She bit her lip nervously, thinking the question over thoroughly. No matter how much thinking she did, though, she came up with the same answer. "No. I'm glad that I have heard both sides of the story and was given the chance to decide for myself. It's not something that everyone gets a chance at."

He looked as if he wanted to say something but he paused, then spoke his mind. "I suppose I was a bit rash when Leader asked me to recruit you. It wasn't the best course of action, but please understand that I was a bit desperate. Without your help, I would have been alone in this organization, one standing against Madara. I knew you would eventually believe me, but I wasn't sure how to get your attention. You still perceived me as the ruthless clan killer, the person that betrayed Sasuke. I had few options, and I took the only suggestion my partner offered."

She suddenly burst out laughing. "You mean that was Kisame's idea?" Her burst of laughter died down to subdued chuckles. "Actually, I believe that one! Somehow I knew that wasn't your idea, it just seemed so out of character."

He allowed his own light chuckle. "Yes... I tried every other method I knew, including convincing Deidara to beat me until I passed out. But then... things became... unexpected."

The silence that followed was deafening, but it gave her enough time to come up with a response. She glanced at him, even though he now avoided her gaze. "You felt it too, didn't you?" When he dared to meet her gaze again, she continued. "It wasn't supposed to happen. Not like that, not to us, but it did, and I think it scared the shit out of both of us." With a wry grin, she turned to face him fully. "At first, I was disgusted because of who I thought you were. But now, I think... once I started talking to you - really talking - you don't seem like such an ass." She smirked a little, her eyes searching his.

He seemed to agree, letting a small huff escape his lips. "I was only an ass because the mission required me to be."

"But what are you when there is no mission?"

His eyes slowly met hers, the long pause between them stifling, the pressure slowly building again. "All that is left for me is my final task. As long as that will be completed, I have no desire to become anything at all."

She leaned close, almost too close, searching his face intently. "There has to be something there. You became something else before... It couldn't have left you that easily. Just let me find you again - what you really are." Before he could say anything further, she leaned close enough to catch a whiff of his scent, closing the distance that had been such a wall between them. She never expected that she would be the one to initiate contact with him again, but she had always been a sucker for men with mysterious allure. Something about his dangerous eyes and his intelligent mind had attracted her inescapably, and here she was, laying a light kiss on his lips.

He stiffened suddenly under the abrupt contact, but just as quickly he closed his eyes, giving in to the fascinating clash of fire and ice again. Just as he was about to deepen the kiss, he felt his ring buzz silently. Shit. He broke away from the kiss reluctantly, staring at the offending item. "Damn him..."

Her brows furrowed at the interruption. "What happened?"

"Our rings vibrate when Leader needs to speak with us. I know him, he wouldn't interrupt this mission if it was not necessary." His lips thinned, the only sign that he was agitated. Still, this could be an emergency, and his hands relaxed into the tiger seal that could project his shadow aspect to the main meeting room. As his thoughts fell away from the scene, he stood on his usual finger on the giant hands of the sealing statue, staring across at Pein. He said nothing, waiting for the report.

Pein's eyes narrowed, a sign that he too was agitated. "I'm sorry to interrupt your mission, but we have... an issue. Hidan and Kakuzu have fallen in battle."

Itachi's eyes widened uncharacteristically. However, this was grave news indeed. "The immortal ones? Or so they thought... How? How could they have both fallen so quickly?"

"I'm not certain, but although it is expected for them to be late, they would never be late to at least report in. That is the one thing they know I'm not lenient with. It has been hours since I sent out a summons to their rings."

"Do you think Madara was involved?"

"No. However, I do have... interesting news. As you know, Deidara and Madara have been out lately, looking for the three-tails. They captured it, but-" He paused abruptly. "Excuse me, Zetsu is reporting in." His shadow specter blinked out suddenly, leaving Itachi to wait. Before long, every remaining member blinked into the room, and Pein informed them on every last detail. Kisame brought in the four-tails, and it seemed like he had fun. However, news spread fast that Hidan and Kakuzu had died, as well as Orochimaru. Sasuke was on the move, gathering members for his team, one of whom Kisame knew fairly well. This didn't bode well. If they found out too much, they would instantly pursue Itachi. Deidara instantly volunteered to go after Sasuke, but Itachi knew that Sasuke would either kill Deidara or find a way to escape. As soon as the others blinked out, Itachi was left alone with the leader.

"You know how this will end..."

Pein nodded gravely. "Most likely Sasuke will escape, but it will slow him down and give you some time to come up with a plan. Hurry up and get that ring, find out anything you can! I can't express how dire your swift return is..."

"There is no need for that, Leader-sama." He smiled briefly before blinking out.

* * *

A/N: Well I had to refresh myself on what exactly happened in the manga, and I got the events in more or less the right order. But yeah that's it for the moment.


	10. Burn Asunder

A/N: Meh, sorry for the wait, but I'm not going to force myself to write when I have no ideas. That just makes for chapters filled with crap that I get disappointed with. Last chapter, lemon chapter, I warned you, etc etc blah blah do not own. Also, on a completely irrelevant note, NEVER write Itachi while listening to "Great Balls of Fire."

Chapter 10 - Burn Asunder

"How the hell are we supposed to concentrate on this mission when everything is falling down around us?" Sakura kicked a rock with frustration, not realizing she had added chakra and sent the rock straight through the opposing wall with a crash.

Itachi was unaffected by her outrage and continued inspecting the ground in front of him, Sharingan examining every small detail. "This way." He began walking down the corridor, leading the way as Sakura regained her composure and followed along. She was still uneasy, the news of Hidan and Kakuzu falling in battle hitting her heavily. Those two weren't called the zombie twins for nothing, and yet somehow someone had come up with a way of killing them off, even Hidan. Somehow she knew that Deidara wouldn't be too far behind, though that news would be even worse. She liked Deidara, as crazy as he was, though she hadn't had much of a chance to really talk to him. Their brief interludes had been pleasant, and she knew they would have been great friends if only things had gone better.

The long destroyed corridors of Orochimaru's lost underground complex were difficult to navigate even when they found completely intact tunnels. Most of the long passes were unreachable by normal means, and they didn't want to risk a cave-in by digging through. However, half of the complex was relatively untouched and after a few minutes they found one of the inner rooms, laboratory jars and books filling the room. On the desk was a very old, withered severed hand, the Akatsuki ring on it. Itachi paused in front of it, nodding once. "So that's how he did it..."

Sakura grimaced at the sight of the laboratory but stepped next to him, frowning down at the severed hand. "Did what?"

"When we were all taken into Akatsuki, we were told that there was only one way out, and that was death. These rings can never be removed from the user's hand except in death. However... it seems that he was able to escape the ring's influence by severing his own hand. A desperate measure, perhaps, but effective. After he escaped Akatsuki, we have had trouble tracking him down again."

She nodded in response and took the ring from the hand, her medic professionalism overtaking her initial repulsion. The Void, as the writing on the ring said. "Now... to look for evidence about Sasuke."

"Aren't you going to put the ring on?"

"No. Not yet, anyway. If being in Akatsuki is truly so binding, I want to think harder about it. That, and..." She grimaced down at the ring again. "It's filthy."

He let out a small scoff that might have been laughter and turned away quickly, cloak fluttering in the silence. She followed at a short distance, inspecting the room on the way out. No, Sasuke wasn't here, this was Orochimaru's sanctum. In fact, few signs existed of any activity that would belong only to Sasuke. Both of them realized this after searching room by room, and Itachi closed the last door reluctantly. "Sasuke can be quite the escape artist when he really wishes it."

She scoffed. "Believe me, I know." Frowning in dismay, she looked down the hall at all the other doors in the numerous corridors. Well, now what? A moment passed, then she suddenly got an idea. "Well... there's more than one way to find what you're looking for." With a smirk she concentrated her chakra, heightening her sense of smell to that of a very keen ninken dog. "I'll sniff him out."

Itachi followed at a careful distance. She was a bit unconventional, but he wouldn't complain. All over the walls were traces of past battles, a scrape here, a gouge there, nothing unusual considering what Orochimaru had been up to all these years. Sakura stopped at one room in particular, going over to the empty bed and taking the sheets from it. "This was his. I don't see any sign of struggle." That's what unnerved both of them the most. Sasuke hadn't fought back. Maybe he didn't need to.

"I suppose he had his reasons. It's possible that he is waiting for the right moment to strike back at the snake. A snake may bite and poison its prey, but an injured beast is one to be feared."

She chuckled bitterly. "Don't I know it. Sometimes I could barely contain some of the jounin patients at the hospital. A few really hard cases had to be restrained by Tsunade herself, with the help of me and a few other medics."

He nodded appreciatively. "Kisame has his bad days as well. It is all I can do to tend to his wounds when he can barely move. Odd, isn't it, how they can't move to tend to themselves but they still thrash about like a wild creature?"

"That never made sense to me, no matter how much I learned." They stepped out into the bright light again, tracing the faint scent trail Sasuke left behind. After several feet it disappeared completely, leaving Sakura to sigh with dismay. "This is so strange..." An odd trail of blood caught her eye just barely, covered by rocks enough to where she only noticed it by chance. She ran to the trail, catching the scent again and hoping they had caught on to something at last. After uncovering the trail, she followed the growing streak of blood to where several large splatters and smudges covered the wall, smeared in some areas. Her mouth opened with awe at the sheer scope of the damage. "This..."

Itachi shook his head once. "A slaughter." He nodded again, though towards an unidentified lump on the floor. Upon further inspection, they found it was Orochimaru's discarded body. Sakura drew back, repulsed.

"Disgusting..." Despite her repulsion, she drew closer, inspecting the body from enough of a distance to not smell it. She immediately dispelled her chakra enhanced scent, overcome by the smell of decay. "It looks like he was stabbed with some kind of chakra weapon."

"Not quite. It seems like a pure chakra wound. It has the entry size of a weapon, but not the right type of slice. The wound is singed, that indicates a chakra wound. However, he managed to concentrate it to almost the accuracy of a sword..."

"He's getting stronger."

"He is." Itachi stooped down again, picking up a fragment of snake skin, pondering it carefully. "Perhaps this time he will be strong enough to kill me. I wouldn't want to leave a weakling behind to Madara."

Sakura paused, thinking over what Itachi was saying. In a quiet voice, she said "Sasuke won't be alone this time."

He glanced up at her, her downcast gaze looking sad in the full light. "No. He won't be alone, not for long. He has you."

"No, not me. He left me alone, he didn't want me to follow after him, and I don't intend to, not after what he's done. It's clear he doesn't want any interference until he finds you. When I said he wouldn't be alone... I meant that... he has you. In the end, Sasuke has his brother to guide him."

His eyes were cast to the ground, his figure unmoving and silent. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to think. She was right, he knew, but he didn't know how to come to terms with what she meant. He remained silent. There was nothing he could say.

* * *

That night, under the stars they camped beneath, silence reigned above all else. He hadn't said anything since she commented on his role in his brother's life, and she wondered if she shouldn't have said it at all. No, she didn't regret that, she supposed. Still, he was so quiet. Trying to shift the strange mood to something else, she finally spoke, the fire flickering away as they stared at the stars. "Where do you suppose he went?"

Itachi had his hands clasped primly on his chest, laying back as he stared at the sky. "It's likely that he is looking for me. However... there is one more thing I must do, and it is why Leader sent Deidara to intercept Sasuke. If he does... he might get killed, but if he doesn't... we will all get killed. I must do this tomorrow, while I have a chance. It's the only chance I have."

"What are you going to do?"

His eyes closed in contemplation. "It is something I can't even tell you, I'm afraid. It is important that I take it to my grave, you understand. If Madara were to capture you and have someone extract your memories, everything would be ruined. I know you would never quail under mere interrogation, you proved this to me well enough, but we must plan for the worst case."

She nodded, frowning up at nothing. "I understand. The fact alone that I know what I do now is too revealing if I were to be caught. I know you'll do what you have to. It'll only be a few days, won't it? Until he..."

"Most likely. It won't be much longer. When tomorrow is over with, and news of his battle is known, I shall send a message to him and lead him to me at last."

"Only tomorrow? It seems like such a distant time, even though it's only hours..."

"I suppose that since I'm aware that I will die soon, time seems to stretch on forever."

She sat up slowly, nodding towards the fire. "Yes, I've seen that happen with terminal patients. They cling on to every last minute, using their final hours to make amends and leave their families with something to consider."

"So it will go. I don't regret what I must put him through. It is necessary, if he is to get at Madara. There is much more I would do if time went on, but this will not be the case." He faced her, catching her gaze. "When I am gone, you must take care that Madara doesn't try to sway you. Once he figures out that you know everything, he will try to make you his ally. Along with that, he is still trying to manipulate the others. Kisame knows the other half of my plan, and you will need to make sure he succeeds." His expression grew unreadable. "I want you to make sure he'll be alright."

Her brows raised at that. Itachi never seemed to care much about anyone else, save his brother in recent days, but now it seemed he cared somewhat for his long-time partner. Perhaps after the many years they spent in the other's company they had formed a sort of friendly bond, though it was just as likely that Itachi was considering Kisame's strength in battle. "Alright. I'll take care of him."

He closed his eyes again briefly. "We will arrange it so you will meet up with Naruto after my battle. From there, you must return and make it seem as if nothing happened and you managed to escape once I perished. Once you return, tell your shishou what I have told you, leak everything, have them prepare for war. This final battle will accomplish much more than preparing Sasuke for his own battle, it will set the entire plan into action. You must see to it that Akatsuki and Konoha acts as one. Use your ring, keep it a secret. If you focus your chakra into it, even while not wearing it, you can contact Pein. He will give you further instructions."

"What about you, though? What about..." Her eyes drifted back to the ground, not wanting to say it. What about the two of them? What about the things they had felt, the strange clash of wills that led to unexpected passion? Would she never be able to understand what it was?

Itachi was far more perceptive than most people and caught on to her implication. "I am out of time, tomorrow I venture into the unknown. As for tonight, however..." He edged closer to her, the backs of his fingers tracing the outline of her chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps tonight can last a bit longer." His expression was suddenly unguarded, losing the usual mask of indifference. She knew that he still held emotions deep down, buried under years of imposed icy apathy. He was slow to change once he was set in his ways, but this turn of events, all he had shared with her, somehow he began to trust her with everything, even his true personality. This real man under the mask was just as calm, quiet and reserved, but he exuded a strange kind of tenderness that could only come from someone that had loved too much once. He had loved his brother, it was a fatal mistake but necessary. Once that was all taken from him he had closed down, shut off everything, but now in his last hours he could truly forget.

She willingly closed the distance, seeking his lips with her own, that same surge of ice gone and replaced with renewed fire. Of the people she had known from Konoha, only a few others had held the will of fire the same way Itachi had. Of all great sacrifices that had been made, his was one of the greatest. She didn't think him a martyr, rather someone that had been caught up in unfortunate circumstances. She had to let him go after tonight. They knew it couldn't last. For everyone's sake, including their own, this would be all they could ever have. Neither regretted it. He leaned into her kiss, deepening it with a turn of his head. She let him push her down onto her back when his hands came to her shoulders, surrendering to his touch.

When he pulled away, he took her hand cautiously, running his thumb over her palm, thinking. Humans were such fragile things, he mused. One critical hit was all it would take to end one's existence. If he wanted to, he could have killed her too, but instead his other hand roamed down her curved face, down to her neck, resting on the zipper of her signature vest. His palm rested over her heart, feeling the beating underneath. Fragile things. Her perceptive eyes saw much more than he would have wished, but perhaps it was for the better. Maybe she would understand, as no other before her had. She didn't look at him with disgust anymore, just the calm, sympathetic gaze that had intrigued him from the start. Her hands went down his chest, feeling the thick fabric of his cloak before unsnapping the heavy garment, leaving behind his thin meshed shirt. His lean muscles plainly showed under the tight fabric, tensing as he drew close enough for her to catch that alluring scent again.

He smelled of jasmine and something masculine, strands of his long hair escaping the confines of his tie. She reached back to untie his hair, each segment flickering yellow and orange by the light of the fire. As he paused there above her, his hair down around his shoulders and his cloak gone, it almost seemed as if he were someone else, someone that didn't have the ties to Akatsuki, the ties to himself, the ties to his past and his regrets. He seemed to feel freed of his obligations, free from the world if only for one night. He leaned close again, kissing her forehead chastely. It was a thanks, a thanks for freeing him at least once.

Her hands went to his neck, pulling him down for another kiss, responding in the only way she felt proper. She knew what he meant. She had seen it all before. It was their fate as shinobi to suffer, to feel this separation from themselves, to be so different from other people. She had her own separation from herself, what she had called Inner Sakura, and she supposed she was just as insane as anyone else that called themselves a shinobi. When he pulled back again, her look was resolute, holding a sense of finality. They had changed, but the change only fueled the fatal attraction. Her hands grabbed his shirt roughly, suddenly desiring more of this fire that burned in their souls. He responded by leaning up a little, letting her remove all that remained of his former self.

His lean muscles tensed as he edged back down, unzipping her vest slowly, intently focused on every piece of her that he unveiled. In truth he was intrigued, still uncertain how someone like her could inspire him into changing who he was. She knew everything... she accepted what he was. Since she knew everything, he knew she had accepted all of him, all of what he had been and what he was now. Perhaps that was what intrigued him. No matter how much she found out, she would try to see things from every perspective. She was quite similar to himself, he mused. If he had been born to a different family... if he had been someone ordinary... could he have been more like her?

Her clothing fell aside, followed by whatever still separated them, leaving them with nothing but themselves. She had changed once the clothing was lost. Without her signature gear, she ceased to be Haruno Sakura and became... just a person, just someone that knew the stranger above her. All pretenses were cast aside, meaningless words and notions next to the heat of the moment. His hands ran up her legs, lingering over every inch, almost as if inspecting. She didn't exactly expect blind passion out of him, but even so, his scrutiny made her blush. His dark eyes wandered back to her face again, her shy blush and unguarded expression making him stop in his tracks. He smirked just the smallest bit, staring at her as he continued his exploration, watching her grow more and more red as she turned her face away.

Sakura finally had enough of the intense glare and began an exploration of her own, her nails drifting from his chest to his sides. He seemed slightly amused by that and stopped his movements to watch her progress. Only when she grazed over a particularly sensitive region did he finally lose his desire to explore and regained that nearly abandoned sense of lust. He didn't deny these sensations anymore, he knew that no human being could for long. Even the most chaste monk in the fire country had to have his moments, he surmised. His dark ebony eyes flicked to hers, letting her know that he didn't feel like playing games anymore. Her own jade eyes burned with inner fire, not wanting to play around either. With another slight smirk he drew closer, biting at her lower lip as he took her slowly.

She tensed at the intrusion, though after a moment her fingers tightened around his back, one hand coming up to thread through his long hair. He paused only another moment before continuing, slow but steady at first, getting accustomed to this odd sensation coursing through him. If it had been only a clash of fire and ice before, now it seemed like a complete meltdown. With every motion he felt something old and forgotten stir in his gut, something he had abandoned so long ago. He didn't dare consider what it might be, lest he forget his lifelong mission. No, whatever it was, it couldn't be. This was his fate, this was how it was meant to be, as painful as it was.

When she clenched harder, he knew she was close, coming near the edge as his speed increased. He felt it too, the tense, blinding moment just before the end. His rhythm didn't decrease even as he fought the overwhelming sensations rushing over him, suddenly feeling far too much when he was so used to feeling nothing at all. She arched suddenly, and for the briefest moment he thought she whispered his name, though it was lost in the roar of the crackling fire. When she tensed around him, clutching at his back for dear life, he lost it as well, tensing as stars danced across his vision. The explosion of thought and feeling was almost too much, but when it was over he felt a sense of clarity that he had never had before. Yes, now he understood.

He withdrew but she pulled him close again, not relinquishing her hold. He understood why. She didn't want to give up what this was they had felt. Reluctantly, his lips pursed slightly as he opened his eyes and looked at her. "You have to let me go."

His words were simple but final, and although she understood, her eyes closed and she sighed heavily, loosening her grip. "I understand."

A small, real smile escaped him, letting her have one last glimpse of what he truly was. It was only because of this chance relationship that he knew anything at all of who he had been, as confusing and complex as it may have been. With that, the Itachi she knew disappeared, his Sharingan appearing, whirring quietly. "...then sleep." His gaze was mesmerizing... lulling her into sleep...

* * *

She woke, cold and alone, on her back but covered with a small blanket. He was gone. Was this the end? She had no idea how long she cried. In the end, he didn't regret marching to his death, but she still mourned. She mourned what he was, what it meant to lose what this world really needed. Perhaps, she supposed, she even mourned for her own sake.

* * *

A/N: Okay... Before you ask... this is the ENDING. Before you go about trying to kill me, there will be a sequel but not for some time yet. This is how I wanted it to end, really.


	11. AN Sequel up

And... now for the obligatory author's note, since many of you did story alert instead of author alert. That never made sense to me but... whatever. THE SEQUEL IS ALREADY UP. Yes, I know I said it would be a while yet, but after speaking with some of my friends I got this sudden explosion of rainbows in my brain (I'm kidding) and inspiration was formed. The new story is called "Regrowth".

...

Since I'm here... how did you like that last lemon? I've always pictured Itachi as an explorative person, not so much a hopeless romantic lol. Whatever, I'm rambling, go read the new story. (It's Kisame and Sakura, hehe... because I just freaking love those two) 


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